My Guilty Pleasures
by BANEHiwatari
Summary: I had nothing left. I was the black sheep of the family who witnessed her parents and brothers get killed. Then, they came to me under the condition that I'd look after them. They came and became my new family. Then, they left... GenesisxOC  Sequal is up!
1. Prelude to it all

My Guilty Pleasures

This is the first story that I'm writing with more than one chapter. In the story, Maigen (pronounced May-Gen) has lost her family. When she comes home one day, from the hospital, her life changes, as she discovers Chibis in her room.

Normal.

Hm. That word was always an adjective unlikely used to describe me.

I'm not normal, much less considered it.

Let my tale begin.

I walked down the hallway of my high school. Belleville was boring. The only reason that I would live in such a town was that it was about 20 minutes from New York, my friends, and I've got to finish my education.

My parents and siblings may be dead, but I gained even greater friends through the tragedy.

Chibis that appeared in my bedroom the day I came back from a coma in the hospital.

They may not be real characters in this world, but how they got here is still a mystery to me.

Genesis Rhapsodos

Sephiroth

Angeal Hewley

Zack Fair

Cloud Strife

Tseng

Rufus Shinra

Rude

Kadaj

Yazoo

Loz

Vincent Valentine

Weiss the Immaculate

Nero the Sable

And even Reno

They've helped me get through my life after my family's death. I am no longer alone in this world and I'm glad.

The funny thing is that Genesis, Sephiroth, Angeal, Tseng, Rude, Vincent, and Rufus had decided to take jobs at my school. Even better was that Rufus was the principle. Reno's posing as my 7th cousin on my mom's side and he's in 10th grade (*snickering... Reno: "Yo! This isn't funny man. I'm stuck with immature kiddies"), Zack is a student in the same grade as me (9th... Zack: "It's only because I look like I'm 14 ok?"), Nero and Weiss are my 8th cousins on my mom's side, Cloud is just a new student in the 9th grade (Lol because he got put in a grade with guys that are taller than him... Cloud: "Only because most of them are on steroids!"), and Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz are my 6th cousins on my mom's side of the family, in the order of grades 9th, 11th, and 12th grades. (I'm not that worried except for Loz's erm, sensitivity and their good *cough*cough* looks; well this reason goes for everyone. I really don't want to have to kill someone because they were trying to flirt with MY NEW FAMILY! DX and trust me I've caught the school slut trying to make out with Reno!

-_-" I swear to God if looks could kill, that woman would've made over 10000000000000000 infinity trips to hell and back! DX

Anyways... School has gotten more enjoyable, and I hope it stays that way.

Good Dreams and Nightmares,

Your humble servant,

BANEHiwatari


	2. Prologue: I'm not normal

Normal.

Hm. That word was always an adjective unlikely used to describe me.

I'm not normal, much less considered it. The 21st century teens would be on the streets doing stuff only adults should be doing. Smoking, drinking, doing drugs, having intimate relationships, partying, and most of all what my parents considered **failing in life!**

I wasn't raised in a normal environment. My parents were strict and limited everything I did when I was a child. I never went out to play with friends who lived two blocks away. I only visited my neighbors.

So if you compared me to many teens or kids you know, you'll find that I'm very different from everyone. For those of you that find that you know someone with a similar life, well good for you. They could influence you into being more successful than you already are.

If you're wondering about me physically, I'm a person that fights almost never. However, I've been know in elementary school as the "Devil's Spawn." I don't even know how I got that nickname in the first place. I was never particularly aggressive to anyone. With the exception of a few bruises that I gave some annoying boys. But hey, I was 9.

I'm 5ft 1inches tall and I'm not telling you how much I weigh. I've got black hair that's layered to look like the longer version of Genesis Rhapsodos's hair, or rather Ulquiorra's hair from Bleach. My eyes are awkward to be completely honest. Granted, they're both brown at first, but one turns darker and the other turns lighter when I'm excited. I'm not slim nor am I chubby. Just right in the middle, although more towards the slim and muscular.

All right, enough with the introduction. Let my tale begin.


	3. Chapter I: Minerva and My Birthday

September 10, 2010

My eyes opened. A sea of wispy green liquid filled my vision. Where am I? What is this stuff?

I looked around and saw a familiar face, Minerva. So I'm dreaming about Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core, huh? I walked up to her and bowed. No use making a goddess angry, now is it?

She spoke into my mind, "Maigen. You have been chosen by the planet to become the protector of the lives of the fated."

My eyes met hers. "The fated?"

Minerva nodded and gave a smirk, "The ones you would call the main characters of Final Fantasy VII in your world."

A puzzled expression placed itself on my face, "Is this real?"

Minerva didn't answer she only turned to the left. My gazed followed hers and settled upon one of my… most favored characters of Final Fantasy VII. Genesis Rhapsodos.

I walked next to Minerva, while Genesis did that whole, um, repeat of the Crisis Core scene, after he gets beaten by Zack the um, third time? Except, He was looking at me too.

"Who are you?" He asked.

I bowed, "A pleasure to met you Mr. Rhapsodos, you may call me Maigen."

"The pleasure is all mine, Maigen." Genesis nodded. He looked to Minerva, and she did what she did in the cut scene. Genesis looked to me, as I gave him my farewell. I closed my eyes and disappeared.

I opened my eyes and bolted upright. A loud ringing noise in my ear to the left of me, and my head turned to see my blue alarm clock. I gave a loud sigh and shut it off. The time was 6am. The date was September 13, 2010. I looked out my window to see that the sky was still extremely dark. I hopped out of my bed and put my tennis team sweatshirt on. I made my bed and headed to the bathroom to do my business. I changed into the cheap school uniform that my town had us buy. I've got nothing against uniforms, it's just that I really don't like that its just khakis with a navy blue polo and the town logo.

I went downstairs to the kitchen where I ate a light breakfast of toast, milk, some fresh peaches, and bacon!

I walked into my eldest brother's room and asked if he was going to take me to pick me up after school today, but he sleepily muttered a 'no' and happily yelled a "Happy Birthday Little Sister!"

I ran upstairs to tell my mom that I had to go, however she just fell asleep again. I sighed at how lazy my family was and went into my little brother's room to tell him to be careful walking home. He merely nodded and muttered a "Happy Birthday" and fell back asleep.

As soon as I got back downstairs I grabbed my tennis shoes, black North Face Hot Shot book bag and my tennis racket carrier and left my house. I trudged up the hill to the high school as I listened to Papa lopped a pap lopped by Gackt. I went through the back entrance and headed straight to my locker. I turned the lock according to the combination and opened it. I put my tennis racket carrier in my locker and grabbed my books for period 1; English 1 Honors. I could feel myself frowning at this. I really hated that class and all the other Honors classes I had. The teachers were just… ngh! I mean really! The teachers in high school are so darn unorganized! I miss middle school. I mean yeah I'm getting A's in all my classes so far (not to brag), but seriously. The students and the teachers act like I'm retarded or some delinquent.

I let out a huff as I opened the door to room 131 and put on a very convincing feign smile. "Good morning Mrs. Armstrong!"

She looked up from her paper work and mumbled a 'hello, good morning.'

I sat in my seat and stared at the little bag on my desk. I looked in it and found a green-eyed panda with a shark tooth necklace around its neck. A note at the bottom of the bag read:

'Happy Birthday Maigen!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Your Friend Karissa'

I gasped. I hadn't seen Karissa in 3 years. But I was truly thankful to her. I looked to the board and proceeded to listen to the lesson as I played with the little panda in my arms.

**As a side note, this is my schedule:**

**1****st**** Period: English 1 Honors Mrs. Armstrong 131 7:57-5:51**

**2****nd**** Period: Phys Ed Mr. Cornellis Gym Room 8:55-9:36**

**3****rd**** Period: Band Mrs. Brandon Room 221 9:40-10:21**

**4/5****th**** Periods: Latin 1 Mr. Elezaro Room 213 10:25-11:06**

**6/7****th**** Periods: Algebra 1 Mr. Hertz Room 151 11:10-11:51**

**8****th**** Period: Lunch 11:55-12:16**

**9/10****th**** Periods: History Honors Mr. Etude Room 115 12:20-1:01**

**11****th**** Period: Orchestra Mr. Argo Room 221 1:05- 1:46**

**12****th**** Period: Biology Mrs. Konnor Room 220 1:50-2:31**

Only 3 people remembered that it was my birthday, my eldest brother, Spencer, my little brother, Nigel, and my friend, Karissa. Oh well you can't win them all I guess. Ok in summary on the past periods; I was bored the past 10 periods. I'm in Period 11 and Mr. Brown was so nice as to let me type this up on my Mac Pro. My school lets us bring our laptops with us, as long as we don't let them get stolen. Anyways, I would never allow my laptop to be stolen. Mine's custom made.

I went to Biology after that and had to take a test on the parts of the microscope. I got a 100.

After that, I went back to my locker to get my Kenneth Cole Reaction coat (I had left it there on Friday) and tennis racket carrier. I left to the girls' locker room to change for tennis. Today was a game against West Orange. The result is… VICTORY!

I went home at about 11pm. I went to wash up because I was all sweaty and came out wearing checkered pajama pants and a Kingdom Hearts T-shirt. I also wore Under Armor under them so yeah I was warm (and yes I wore undergarments). I quietly went into my room (so that I didn't have to wake anyone up) and was surprised. A new bookshelf was in my room that wasn't there before. Also, there was a green dresser in between the silver shelf and my desk.

On the dresser were several gifts. I went up to them and opened the heavy rectangular black, perfectly symmetrical box. It said "From your loving father."

Inside was a BB Gun (A Crossman C11) there were also two real H&K and S&W silver and black magnums. They also came with ammo.

I smiled and placed the guns and ammo into the silver glass door shelf that had a note on the inside that said "Happy Birthday Maigen. Sorry I can't be there to celebrate it with you. Hope you like your gift! Your cousin, Nick"

I sniffled a little and moved on to the black box with the Square-Enix logo and light green wrapping paper on it. I opened it and a note fell out. The note said "Happy Birthday big sis!" Inside the box was the silver LOVELESS pendant from Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core that read LOVELESS in Genesis's voice, the black silver one-winged angel necklace, the regular silver one-winged angel necklace, and the SOLDIER keychain. I put all the necklaces on and hung the keychain with the necklaces.

A long box with silver wrapping held swords. I knew that this was from my mother, because she would be the only person to think of getting me swords as a gift. There were twin black and silver katanas, an emerald green rapier, and… oh, a fold out scythe.

I moved onto the large box with the light blue wrapping paper and inside was a gun hoister and a strap to put my swords in, a black and green hoodle, and The Phantom of the Opera books. I knew that my big brother gave this to me because I've been nagging at him to get me the Phantom of the Opera movie with Gerard Butler (Hey, the guy's pretty darn sexy for a 40 year old).

Also on a side note, I'm trained with the sword, and although I've never shot a real gun, am really good at hitting things with air guns that have powerful blowbacks. My parents owned a gun license and a sword license, but seriously. Not many people have the now a days.

I went to sleep that night at about 2am my only thought was how great a birthday this was.

_Of course I would always be proven wrong._


	4. Chapter II: Trauma

The sound of gunshots rang and echoed around the house. I jumped from my deep slumber drowsily. I felt as if I had just awakened from a hypnic jerk. I heard screaming and cursing. It was high pitched and sobbing. _My mother was crying and screaming profanities at the same time._ I didn't know what to do until it was too late. Another gunshot rang and my mother was silenced. I then knew that if my mother was dead, so was Nigel and my father. I silently begged for my oldest brother to not wake up as I made my bed and room look like no one had been there all day. I felt tears pour down my face as I grabbed my guns and sword.

Footsteps were heading towards my room as I hid under my bed, behind all the storage boxes and instruments that I kept under there. I backed into a corner as a person with black blood stained boots came into my room. They walked everywhere and got blood on my yoga mat and floors. The person walked slowly yet loud and almost intimidating. I counted their steps as they neared the bed. _Thump Thump Thump Thump…_ went his foot, on after another. They were in front of the bed now. I had my glasses on and can tell that the person was indeed a male by the way he walked. I thought that he was going to leave the room and got ready to get out from underneath the bed when he turned to the door, but as quickly as he turned, he knelt down to look under the bed.

I saw his face clearly. He was a Latino male with tainted tan skin, as dark as ash. Scars covered his face and his eyes were slightly dead looking. He was wearing a black ripped short-sleeved shirt and black jeans with combat boots. His right arm had many tattoos on them, but burns scarred his left arm, as if he had been stuck in a fire.

I was absolutely sure that he had found me and backed into the corner again. The man reached out to grab the boxes and gradually began pulling them away. I can tell you that I was trembling by then. Thoughts went through my head a mile a minute.

_Oh no he found me! No maybe if I'm still silent he'll leave. But he's still removing the boxes that cover where I was! Oh sweet Gaia, I'm going to die! _I began to weep quietly as the thoughts came one after another, nonstop. _No nonononononono! This can't be happening. Not the night after my 14__th__ birthday. It just can't. I don't want to die yet. I didn't even tell my friends goodbye, or that my aunts and uncles on my dad's side of the family can go to hell._ The man had cleared up everything blocking the way from me._ I never got a chance to publish the book I wrote. No one will remember me. I just hope Spencer makes it out alive. _My tears turned into sobs as the man grabbed my arm and pulled me out, as I did my best to resist.

"No! Let me go! You murderer burn in hell!" I screamed. The man threw me onto the bed and took his gun out and pointed it at me. I dreaded the worse. _I was going to die right here, alone and broken._

I remembered the gun that was in my hand and kept it hidden in my pants. The man had an evil expression on his face and I sobbed harder. 

He pointed the gun into my abdomen and shot. I bit back the scream that threatened to force its way out.

The man grew angry. "Scream for me like your mother did!" He brought the gun up to my shoulder and shot again. This time a yelp came out of my mouth.

Then, all of a sudden, lightning flashed and a knife was held against my throat. "I said scream you stupid woman!"

I wouldn't give him the pleasure and instead bit his hand. Hard. So hard, I took a chunk of meat right off of his forearm. I spit the chunk out of my mouth in disgust. The salty metallic taste of blood was stuck in my mouth as the man screamed out profanities. While he was distracted, I kicked him in the place that hurts most, causing him to collapse. I kicked his gun away, but he grabbed my ankle and tripped me, sending me backwards onto my butt. He raised his clenched fist and punched me right into the stomach. I about decided that I wasn't going to spare this man from death, when he hit me again. I coughed up blood and spit it in his face. I got up and ran down the hallway and down the stairs, as the man followed after me.

I ran into the kitchen and opened the light and aimed the gun at my pursuer. I shot him in the knee as soon as he walked through the door. He collapsed onto the floor, clutching his knee.

I ran into Spencer's room and found something I did not want to see. Spencer was on his back with a bullet hole right between his eyes. Blood was everywhere. On the walls, the floor and the furniture. Three men were also in the room, with masks on and covered in Spencer's blood. I did what I had to do and shot them. Once their attention was drawn to me, I backed out of the room. I swore I shot them all in the backs, where their hearts should be.

The man on the right spoke first. "Hey boss, looks like we got a survivor on our hands."

There was a grunt behind me and I turned, the Latino man I had shot in the knee got up. "Yeah I know that Waxier. The b**** gave a fight upstairs. She even surprised me with the gun in her hand."

The man to the left spoke up, "So boss, what we goin to do with the chick?"

The person in the middle spoke up, and I immediately deducted that it was a female. "How about we stab her, rape her and then kill her."

I soon as I heard the word "rape" I went berserk. I was in no way in any shape or form getting raped! (I don't know what the word means in detail, but I knew that many women became pregnant from it. Hey I was sheltered my whole life, and my friends, family, and almost everyone I know said that it was better off that I didn't know what it was.)

I can only say one thing. I Blacked Out. I woke up to find the four people dead. I was covered in their blood and I had my katana in hand. I was in the living room and I was shot in several places. I collapsed and crawled my way upstairs. However, I only got as far as the telephone before I collapsed. I struggled to reach the phone, but when I did I called 911.

"911 what is your emergency?' the man on the line asked.

"Please help. Four people came into the house and killed my family. I live at _ Belleville NJ. Please hurry, I'm shot in several places, and I can't see anymore." I blacked out once again and didn't wake up.


	5. Chapter III: Minerva, Hospital, Home

One and a half month later.

October 28, 2010

_I opened my eyes after what seemed like a bad dream. I looked around and found that I was back in the Lifestream. Minerva was standing only a few meters away. She looked troubled._

"_Minerva, why do you look so troubled?" I asked._

_She looked at me, "Your family was killed, Maigen. How else am I supposed to act?" she turned to face me. "Aren't you upset?"_

_I looked at her. "No not really. I'm sad that I couldn't save them, but I know that none of them would want me to be overly upset about it. So I've already mourned for them when they died. Now it's all in the past, since I killed those people."_

_Minerva sighed. "I believe you're right. You should wake up now, it's been almost two months."_

_My eyes widened, "WHAT?"_

My eyes opened and I sat up from the bed. I looked around; I was in a hospital. I sat there silent for a few minutes. It took a few minutes for me to grasped why I was here, but I never should've remembered, for the next thing I noticed, I was putting on the clothes on the chair and high tailing it out of there. Doctors, nurses and a few visitors saw me and started yelling. I ran faster and faster, trying to find a way out of the hospital. Doctors and nurses were chasing me everywhere and I was about sick of it. I ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

In truth, I just really had to pee. As I was washing my hands, I noticed that my eyes were changing color and were two different colors. I was skinnier and I could hear sharper. I still needed my glasses to see, but meh. My observation didn't last long, however, because the nurses had unlocked the bathroom door via a key. There were two nurses, a doctor, and three security officers.

I gulped, and ran into a stall and locked the door. I ran a hand through my hair and waited patiently for the doctors and nurses to check the stalls one by one. I heard opening and slamming of doors, but when they got to mine, everyone stood ready to kick open the door. However, I didn't let them get the chance to see me, as I climbed the toilet and wall to get into another stall and locked the door in that one quietly. I kept doing that until the rest of the stalls were locked. I then climbed back into the one they would be opening and waited. As soon as they gathered again, I jumped to the stalls in the direction of the door. So because, they were too busy searching the bathroom, I ran out the bathroom without them noticing.

The thing is, the idiots left the key in the door, so I locked them in.

I then ran up to the front desk to check out. Since my family was killed and I had sustained serious damage, the four, now dead thugs had been robbed of their money and given to me. I used some of that money to pay for the medical bill.

I left the hospital with my stuff that afternoon and walked home. It took me a very long time, cause I was on the other side of Belleville. I got home after an hour and a half (Yeah it's a LONG walk!) I took the key to the house out of my jeans pocket and opened the house door. I immediately noticed the difference. The blood was gone from everywhere, which meant that I didn't have to deal with police harassing me for having to go into the house to investigate the murder!

I took my shoes off and walked up the stirs to inspect the rooms. Indeed the blood was gone, as if everyone was simply gone on a never-ending vacation. The sheets and blankets were clean and as I walked into my room I noticed that several items were gone. I went into my room and grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom to take a nice hot shower.

Err. I'm not saying the details, but the shower was nice after months in a coma.

After my shower, I walked down stairs to look through the mail. There were a few from the government and some from the bank. The others were about the bills that my mom had to pay and homework my friends had left for me of the past month that I've been absent.

I sighed and grabbed the phone off the counter in the living room and dialed the number on the government letter.

"Hello, New Jersey Government Office. How can I be of service?" A man on the phone asked.

"Hi my name is Maigen Tsurugi. I've received a letter from a Mr. Thesis. The letter told me to call and for me to tell you my name. I'm sorry I don't really know what's going on." I replied nervously.

"Oh of course, Miss. Tsurugi. Mr. Thesis will be with you shortly." The secretary stated.

I had waited for about 3 minutes when Mr. Thesis picked up the phone.

"Hello, is this Maigen Tsurugi that I'm talking to?" A masculine European voice spoke.

"Um yes this is. Are you Mr. Thesis?" I asked.

"Yes I am little one. I understand that you have received my letter?" Mr. Thesis inquired.

"Yes. Can you please explain now? I've got many phone calls to make, and no doubt I'll have to pack my bags." I sighed

"Oh that won't be necessary. The government has paid all the bills, as it was our fault that the thugs had escaped their prison. The bank is also off your back about the mortgage and loans. I'm sorry for your loss, madam."

I smiled, "Thank you, sir I'm glad that I don't have to hunt people down for the money that they owe my mother. I'll keep in touch should anything happen."

"Yes, very well, until then."

I hung the phone up at that. I turned to my homework and began doing it all. Notes and study guides were in one pile and textbooks and worksheets were in another. Eleven hours past and I was finally done.

I got up and made myself some miso soup and udon noodles. After I ate, it was about 10pm. I walked to my room and fell asleep right after I brushed my teeth and the thunderstorm started.

Tomorrow was another school day, along with endless tests and quizzes.


	6. Chapter IV: The Chibis

October 29, 2010 12:53am

Thunder crackled in the night sky, but I was a heavy sleeper. I had gotten up to use the toilet but had accidentally hit the on button on the Play Station. In the game system was Final Fantasy VII and I kinda also turned on my PSP, for the Crisis Core music.

After I was done, I was slowly taking my time washing my hands. But lightning cracked outside and hit my house (DX Again!). The game systems short circuited and the power went off completely. I heard several thumps and went to check what it was. I went into my room only to find small things on my bed. The power flipped back on. I could've fainted. Chibis.

My eyes widened when I closed the door and one of the chibis moved. I walked closer and almost actually fainted. Final Fantasy VII chibis.

The Zack chibi opened its eyes and rubbed them. He stood up and screamed when he saw me.

I put up my hands to show that I was of no threat, "No! Please don't scream"

He stopped and looked up at me. "Who're you? I'm Zack."

I smiled, "It's nice to meet you Zack, I'm Maigen." I pretended not to know anything and moved to shut all the game systems off. I turned back to Zack and nodded to the others. "Who're your other friends?"

Zack looked to the others and looked back at me. "I only know some of them. Do you want me to wake them up?"

I nodded and sat on my desk chair and waited. Zack screamed loudly, waking every one of them up.

Sephiroth sat up and ended up hitting Angeal. Genesis woke up due to the noise, Reno screamed which woke everyone else up.

"Why did you scream Zack?" Angeal yelled furious.

Everyone looked at Zack for an answer, as I stayed silent. He merely shrugged his shoulder, "We all shrank."

Loz began crying, "But I don't want to be this small!"

Yazoo and Kadaj laughed and teased him. "Ha-ha Loz is crying over how small he is!"

Zack covered his ears as Loz wailed and yelled, "Maigen make them stop!"

I walked up to Loz and pat his head with my forefinger. "Don't cry Loz. If you really want to I bet if you wish really hard, you'll go back to your original size. Don't listen to your brothers, ok? So stop crying." I cooed.

Loz sniffled and nodded, "Ok I won't cry anymore."

I gave him a kind smile and sat on the bed.

I lay down without squishing any of them and closed my eyes. Someone poked my side and I looked down.

"Who are you?" Angeal asked. The others were looking at me.

I lay on my side and looked at all of them. "My name is Maigen Tsurugi."

Kadaj spoke up, "How old are you?"

I chuckled, "I turned 14 last month."

"Where are we? I know we aren't on Gaia anymore, so care to fill us in?" Weiss bellowed.

I scratched the back of my head and gave a deep sigh, "You're all on the Planet Earth. In this world, Gaia is only a planet in fiction." I glanced down at all of them. "All of you are. As for your size, if you wanted to grow back to full size, you could." I yawned, "Can you guys move over? I'm tired and you're on the bed so I don't want to squish you all." They all moved instantaneously.

I let my body fall and I felt my head hit the pillow. I heard some walking and another poke on my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Vincent. "What is it?" I asked with a sigh.

Vincent looked at me, "The others wanted me to ask me if we could sleep with you?"

I gave a nod and lifted the blanket so that they would be able to climb in. After they were all settled in, I positioned myself so that I wouldn't squish them no matter what.


	7. Chapter V: Morning and School

That morning at about 6:27am

I gave a moan as someone poked me in the stomach. I opened my eyes, albeit reluctantly, only to see Genesis, in regular size. I almost had a heart attack I swear it!

I grumbled, "What is it?"

"Your cell phone alarm rang and we decided to wake you up when it was almost 6:30." Genesis explained calmly.

My eyes went wide open and I sat up abruptly from the bed. "I forgot about scho-!" I yelled then gasped as pain racked my body. "Argh!" I screamed as I curled into the fetal position.

Genesis stood back in shock, but quickly rushed to my side to see what was wrong. "Maigen, tell me where it hurts." He requested.

I lifted my pajama shirt to reveal the bandages that wrapped my abdomen. Fresh blood stained the white bandages even more as I got up from the bed to get more bandages. "Can you help me get to the hallway closet?" I asked Genesis.

He nodded and lifted me up bridal style and carried me to the closet and opened it, although I kept on yelling that he didn't have to do that, but of course, Genesis being him, had to say that I was 'injured, and therefore needed assistance so that I didn't inflict any damage upon myself.'

I reached for the bandages and Genesis carried me to the bathroom, which I kindly asked him to get out of.

Once Genesis was out of the bathroom, I brushed my teeth, did all my other personal business and changed both my clothes, which I had Genesis get for me, and changed my bandages.

I walked put of the room refreshed, only to have Genesis pick me up AGAIN! .

I squirmed and thanked the Lifestream that my bandages were sturdier than before; otherwise I would've had to get new bandages. I stared at his face, "Please put me down? I can walk just fine."

"No" he deadpanned.

I just about gave up when I remembered, "Wait! I have to get my book bag and make my bed."

"I had Cloud do your bed and Yazoo packed your book bag, it was just the stuff on the desk right?" Genesis replied unsure.

I nodded my head as he descended the stairs. I sniffed the air and found it to be the scent of pancakes, bacon, toast, milk, fruits, and syrup. What surprised me more was the fact that the dining room sat everyone, each in a fold up chair. They even had to put the table horizontally and extend it with the 10ft extension in order to fit every one.

I was sat down in a chair next to Nero and Genesis took the seat next to me.

I stared at the food before me. "Who cooked the food?" I asked, looking around the table.

Weiss gave off a bellowing laugh, "It was Angeal and Tseng. Those two wouldn't let anyone else help in the kitchen."

Tseng sighed, "Only because there's barely enough room for the two of us as it is."

"And the fact that none of you know how to cook." Angeal added in.

"Reno almost gave us all a heart attack by trying to making burgers when the Shinra employees had a New Years party." Started Rude.

"Yeah, and he used a flamethrower to cook the meat." finished Rufus.

I laughed, "I can imagine how that ended." I turned to the pancakes in front of me and announced, "Let's eat everyone!"

We dug into our pancakes and after about a few minutes, I was finished with my breakfast and excused myself.

I walked into the basement and pulled out my rapier and began to carefully execute random blows to the practice dummies. After about several dummies, I put the rapier away and walked back upstairs. I looked at the sink to find the dishes done and the leftover food packed away for my lunch. I walked into the living room, "Hey guys I've got to get to school now so-" I cut off mid-sentence. On the couch was everyone, in their chibi form. "Why are you all in chibi form?"

I asked.

Sephiroth walked up to me, a black wing protruding from his back. "We're coming to school with you."

Kadaj came up from the back of Sephiroth and declared, "And you can't convince us otherwise, sister."

I sighed heavily. _There was no use arguing with them. They'll all probably sneak into my book bag when I leave anyways._ "Fine, who knows how to drive?" I asked.

Angeal, Rude, Tseng, and Yazoo lazily lifted their hands up. Reno had his hand raised immediately screaming out, "Oh! Oh! Me! Me! Pick me! Come on Maigen please pick me!"

"Would you shut your mouth, Turk!" Yazoo snapped. "You won't be chosen to drive if you keep up this useless clamor!"

Reno stopped talking, but he still stuck his hand up like no tomorrow. Yazoo face-palmed himself and shook his head.

Tseng sighed, "Rude will drive the car. The rest of us will be in your book bag." Tseng climbed into my book bag with the others and Rude became normal sized. I picked up my books and my bag and dragged Rude to the door.

After the door was locked, Rude started the car as I got into the passenger seat. The drive to school was silent, but as soon as we pulled up to the school's back entrance, my aura seemed to become gloomy as I muttered, "**I absolutely ****hate**** this place.**" It wasn't loud, but it was audible enough for the chibis to hear. Before I knew it, Genesis had climbed onto my shoulder with Zack.

"Why do you hate school?" asked a curious Zack on my left shoulder.

I looked down at them and gestured out the window to the teens that were standing around on the side street, "They're the reason why I absolutely despise most people my age."

Zack decided to question further, "But what did they ever do to you?" His big round chibi eyes were wide with curiosity.

I sighed, "I call them 'T.O.C.W.E.S.P' or teens on crack with extra social problems, mainly because I disagree with their thinking. They do drugs and they're smoking and drinking at such a young age. They are no younger than me and no older than 19 or 20. I think that it's apart of being raised in the States. Everything here is I, I, and more I. I was raised not by one principal but three. I matter, others matter, and nothing matters. I know I'm not perfect, but seriously. Look at how much they're ruining their lives by doing this. I'd like to explain further, but you'll see when you attend my classes. Are you both going to stay hidden in my hair throughout the whole day?"

Genesis chuckled, "It'll only be me." He sat down on my right shoulder and pulled my hair to hide. Zack climbed back into the backpack and I zipped the bag up.

The car pulled up in one of the student parking spaces next to the back entrance, and we both got out. Rude insisted on carrying my books, so I was left to carry the book bag with the chibis on my back.

When we walked into the school I wasn't really surprised to find everyone staring at Rude and I. (well mostly Rude.) After a brief visit to my locker, I walked to the main office with Rude.

No. I won't write about the office. It's just a load of bull****. They kept telling me how tragic my situation was and how sorry they felt. Yeah well I never got the whole pity thing with people. There was no need and I didn't accept help easily. I normally wouldn't have minded, but the constant 'I'm so sorry for your loss' was getting annoying. I would've strangled every-single-person there if Rude weren't keeping a firm grasp on my shoulder and Genesis calming me down by quoting LOVELESS.

I was sent to first period after a brief talk with the principal and the lead detective of the school. Rude was given a pass to follow me everywhere I go, with the exception of some places. Genesis was still on my shoulder, but he wasn't reading LOVELESS. He was just sitting there I think…


	8. Chapter VI: First Period Nightmare

First Period…

I opened the door to English and found no one in the room at the minute. I walked into the classroom with Rude at my heels. I sat down at my desk; third seat of the third row; and asked Rude if he wanted to sit. He merely shook his head no and stood by my desk. I looked around to make sure no one would enter the classroom and told Genesis to hop off my shoulder. I grabbed a bottle of water from my backpack and took a sip.

Genesis jumped and sprouted a black wing on his left shoulder. He gently flew down to the table and surveyed his surroundings. "It's filthy here."

I choked on my water, but painfully swallowed it. I coughed once or twice, which caused Genesis and Rude to look at me in worry. I glanced at Genesis, "Yeah I know it's dirty here. I've been complaining about the filth in all the schools since I started school."

Genesis looked up at me, "Yeah well the staff should keep it more clean. I mean there are cobwebs on the corners of the ceiling!"

My eyes looked up to the far end of the room to the right, he was right. There was a large spider web with bugs all over it. My face scrunched up, "Aw man. I really didn't want to know that."

Besides, my biggest fear of all wasn't death like all others, it was… BUGS. I mean even though they barely harm us (yeah, what about mosquitoes, ticks, spiders, etc. Do worms count as bugs?) I still can't stand to be in the presence of them… Eww *shudders.

The bell rang a bit after that and Genesis climbed onto my shoulder again muttering some profanities for having to hide all day. Rude went to take a seat all the way in the back just as my classmates and replacement teacher came in the classroom.

Urgh. Mrs. Murt. The damn hag hated me and I hated her. The first time I met her, I was kind of off on the behavior. It was in the middle school about 9 months ago, she had started yelling at me because I wore my polo shirt without any of the buttons done. Then she made me mad by criticizing my personality saying, "I've seen you strut around school like you own the place and that you could care less about what everyone does. I hate children like you. You're not a lady, just some street rat's child."

I can tell you this. She just about said everything that could cause me to blow up. I couldn't take it any more and started cussing her out. Everyone in the building probably heard me. I got a warning, because the darn hag was a kiss up. She started to act all innocent and shit. I swear, if I wouldn't get in trouble or if I didn't have any self-control, I'd have beaten the woman straight to next year.

She had found out that my mother was a high-school drop out, and that my dad didn't finish college. The hag also knew of the debts that my family owed to the bank. The wretch also pulled out a file on my activities and I. I don't know how she got all that information, but she really can't start hating me for the things she said that provoked me.

I don't even think her description is very important, but she was in her middle ages that is it.

The first thing she did was sneer at me, while the others gasped and ran up to my desk and started asking questions. "Where were you, Maigen?" "How are you feeling?" "Who's the big guy in the back?" I was asked.

I didn't answer I only glared at Mrs. Murt. She sat in Mrs. Armstrong's old desk and banged her ruler on the desk. The hag began to call attendance as everyone took his or her seats. The stupid woman sneered when she saw my name, of all names, on the paper with the list of students that weren't absent. My name rolled off her tongue with disgust and she made a face. My eyebrows rose and a smug look came across my face. I felt Genesis shift on my shoulder to get a better view without being seen. I spoke with careful words, "Is everything alright Mrs. Murt? You seem to find my name somewhat foul."

The witch looked in my direction, "Yes, there is a problem, you little brat. You are. Why you're even in an Honors class doesn't even fathom to me." Mrs. Murt rose from her chair and slowly, but forebodingly stalked forward, "Your blood is tainted, you shouldn't even be alive. I've read your godforsaken file, you wretched girl. Along with your family's."

My blood ran cold as my hands curled into fists, "You have no right to look at my family's files." I screamed.

The woman laughed, "Oh I have every right you little girl. You're my student now, so all I had to do was 'persuade' the principal into letting me get your file. She picked up a manila folder and read out loud, 'Maigen Ng born September 13, 1996 in St. Godric Hospital, Clifton New Jersey. You are the only daughter of Karen Tsurugi and Bobby Ng and sister of Spencer, Justin, and Nigel. You were the younger of twins and your twin brother, whom would've been called Noctis, died in the womb. You grew up in Harrison right with your mom and dad's side of the family. You had an unnatural upraising and you hanged out with boys and adults more than anything else. At the age of 5, you started 1st grade. You got straights A's and was at the top of your class until both of your parents started to work when you had started 2nd grade. Your grades dropped and didn't come up until 4th grade. You rose back to the top of your classes and are now in the Honors Program in Belleville High School.' So, it looks like you were such a good little girl. Now let's read your family's file." She flipped the page and smiled sadistically at me. "Karen Tsurugi, born August 25, 196-"

I growled and snatched the files away from her hands and slipped them into my book bag. "You damn witch. How dare you violate my family's lives!" I screamed at her, but was only met with a smack to the face.

The bitch glared down at me and then turned to everyone in the classroom, "Leave here now!" They were all cowards except my friends Adiana, Vanessa, Nalanie, Yogi, Justin, Mycanette, and Emily who left after some persistence, with the others. However, Rude went unnoticed (seriously? He's tall and kind of cool. You would've thought that the witch noticed Rude by now.

-_-;)

The woman slapped me again and I fell out of my desk chair. Genesis gripped my hair to keep from falling and started cursing. I stood up to face the foul hag and spit onto her face. That did it. She charged, like a bull, in blind fury.

I dodged the slap and my instincts kicked in, with Genesis's guidance of course. I used all the karate training that I got in 5th grade. I sent a spinning round kick in her direction and succeeded in pinning her to the ground. I had Rude hold her down as I found some rope to tie the woman up.

About a few minutes later, Mrs. Murt was tied to the chair and her mouth was duct taped. I had Rufus come out of the book bag and stay in his regular form. The detective and principal ran into the room and saw the scene. They immediately started questioning us. They were questioning Rude first, but I got really bored and sleepy and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter VII: Embarrassing

I had an awkward dream. I was being a Mary-Sue (at least the test tells me I am) and I was running away from some star from the 1990's. I don't know what was happening, all I knew was that I was in my underwear and I was really scared, and frightened. The woman kept going on about putting make-up on me. I shuddered _I hate make-up_. Don't even ask why because my patience will crack and I will go off on a rant on 'why I hate make-up'. Anyways… The woman, I think her name was Cher… or something… . I don't know. The woman had finally pinned me to the ground (I'm not fast either) and took out… (Insert suspense music here) LIPSTICK! DX I tried to fight her off, but I'm not strong enough. Heheh yeah, I'm weak.

She grinned madly, "Time to face what you hate the most."

The dream ended and I screamed, "Get the lipstick away from me!" I jolted awake and fell off the chair headfirst. Genesis gripped my hair for his life, stunned by my outburst. I muttered under my breath, my face red, "So embarrassing." Rufus, Rude, Mr. detective and Mr. principal (yeah I can't remember their names… I've never needed to and I get confused with the vice-principal and principal's last names… Artillo and Arilla DX) stared at me. Rufus's mouth opened and closed, unable to form any words. I got up from the floor and dusted myself off. "Is it my turn to speak now or what?" I questioned, saving myself from further embarrassment and silence. Rufus smirked and nodded.

I grinned and started explaining everything dealing with the incident with Mrs. Murt. The principal looked somewhat ashamed, so I asked why.

He grimaced, "I was the one who gave all your information to Genovese Murt. She was… forcing herself onto me and to keep her away, I gave away all your files."

"That is a violation of a student's life! You shouldn't even be considered worthy of being the principal!" the detective yelled out.

"I know, but before I resign, I want to make sure that the school will be in good hands." He turned to Rufus, "Mr. Shinra, I must say that the way you negotiated Maigen's case quite professionally. I want to ask that you be the new school principal."

Rufus thought it over, and looked to me, but I only shrugged. "I accept the position."

The detective left the room with the old principal and the hag, but as soon as they left, I glomped both Rufus, and Rude. "I'm so happy you guys!" I knew that they were uncomfortable because well, I guess that most people stiffen under a hug, as do I when I don't expect it.

I heard the door open, but I didn't move one bit. I just continued to grin like an idiot while hugging Rufus (Rude got away from my grip and was currently standing by my bookbag.) I heard a gasp and looked to the source of the noise.

The whole class along with some of the classes next door was looking through the doorway. The person who gasped was my best friend Vanessa, but I call her my 'cousin'. "Who are you hugging Maigen? You usually hate hugs."

I blushed a bit, "Um, he's a family friend." My gaze shifted back to them and I grinned, "And, he's our new principal!"

They all looked somewhat shocked, "Uh, Maigen, you probably should get off his back, you look like an eight year old on their big brother's back getting a piggyback ride." Nalanie stated.

"No. She looks like herself." Yogi retorted.

I frowned, as they ruined my fun, but slipped off Rufus's back anyways. I went to sit at my desk and pouted a tiny bit… Ok maybe not a tiny bit, since I puffed my checks out and started muttering, "Yeah sure, treat the handicap like dirt."

Rufus seemed lost and Rude seemed like he could care less, when every girl in the class ran up to my desk and started asking the following questions:

"What's the blonde's name?"

"Yeah, and how old is he?"

"Who's the guy with the sunglasses?"

"Is the blonde single?"

"What happened the past month and a half?"

"What do you mean you're handicapped?"

I blinked and blinked again. "I refuse to answer those questions." I spoke and heard Genesis snickering in my right ear.

"These girls are just like the ones back at Shinra HQ and Midgar." Genesis sounded slightly amused.

Having heard my refusal, the girls pestered me even more. Luckily for me, the bell decided to ring at this time and I took off, bookbag on my back and books in Rufus and Rude's hands.

I ran to my locker and put the books in the locker and grabbed my Latin and Math books. I saw my worst enemy, Jade walking in our direction, so I quickly closed the locker door and took hold of Rude and Rufus's hands and led them in the direction of the gym and away from Jade. Knowing her, I'd say that she'd try to either flirt with Rufus or just came around to 'be my friend' and then bully me.

Heya guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it! Especially to:

LoreilDarksky00

and

bibliotaku748

Anyways, I haven't been updating as much as I'd like to because of recent weather conditions. There was a snow storm around where I live, which is like right in the middle of the east coast, yesterday morning. I was in New York at the time when the storm hit, getting a haircut. I got to the city with my siblings (all brothers) and my mom went to work. So when the storm sent all blizzard-like on us, we were still about 38mins away from the World Trade Center and all the stores were closed. Our home was 10miles away, and yeah… Needless to say, I had a lot of time to think about ideas for the story. So when I got home after about 3hrs in a blizzard, I typed all the ideas up onto the computer. The power went off and my computer crashed in the middle of my writing, so I lost about 20 or so chapters that were already written, so to prevent that from happening again, I will be typing the chapters up, saving them onto a new flashdrive that I got with my Christmas money from my dad's side of the 'family' (You'll learn why I did '…' for family in the next 10 chapters or something.) Bare with me please. I'm also suffering from writers block. I'll update the story as often as I can.

Happy Holidays, BANE


	10. Chapter VIII: Gym, Nasties, and Omake

I told the gym teachers about Rude being my guardian until my injuries were healed and that Rufus was the new principal and that I was showing him the school as the periods went by. I left Rude and Rufus with the teachers and headed to the locker rooms. I changed into my gym clothes (a T-shirt and black with white and silver lined Jordan basketball shorts), erm did the rest of my business and left to go sit in my spot.

Everyone who knew me went up to me and asked me where I've been. I simply said that there was an accident and that they can kindly bugger off. They knew I'd meant business, so they didn't pester me anymore. The teachers led us through stretches and crunches, and then surprised us with a change of schedule. We were playing dodgeball.

"Maigen, I think you should sit out on this one." Mr. C called out.

I shook my head vigorously, "No way! I'm playing whether you like it or not!" my gaze turned malevolent.

Mr. C only sighed, "Alright. First, we'll pick teams. There will be a team A and team B."

The team captains were both male seniors. I waited for like years to get onto a team, but I was chosen last to be on team A. I was passive about being picked last, although they would soon find out that I wasn't some pansy. Most of the members of both teams consisted of gossiping girly-girls that can only scream every time a ball was thrown at them.

I walked to the wall and placed myself in sprint position, as the teachers put the soft balls on the half court line and explained the rules. "You may not throw the balls in any inappropriate places." Do I need to go on? We all know the rules of dodgeball, you get hit you get out. You catch a ball; a player from your team comes back into the game and the person who threw the ball is out.

"The match begins in 3…2…1… Start!"

I ran forward to get the green ball on the right of the line. I was third to get a ball on my team, and seeing that none of the girls on my team were trying, I sprinted back to the wall with the ball. I turned around just as Mohammed threw a ball towards my face. My eyes went wide and I ducked the ball and threw mine at his stomach. He didn't expect that (_the cocky bastard always underestimates me. This isn't the first time we played dodgeball together in school. We were playing pin dodgeball in the middle school, so I was too busy guarding the pins. Then he comes up from his team and throws a ball right into my face just as I dodged another ball that came at me. I admit that I wasn't prepared at first, so I got a face full of ball. My pride was wounded that day. So as payback, I convinced my dear friend Aaron, to throw a ball back at Moe's face. And oh boy did payback feel nice._) So, he had no time to duck. He got hit in the face and was taken out of the game. I smiled with pride. I had taken the other teams' most valuable player. For the rest of the period, I dodged balls and threw them at faces. I think the other team hates me now…

Gym ended as quickly as it began and throughout the whole thing, Rufus and Rude were both talking to the teachers and watching me. I didn't talk to my so-called 'onee-san' Christian. I didn't talk to anyone. When gym ended I changed quickly, got my stuff, and left class early with Rufus and Rude, because I was handicapped. The band room was up the stairs, so Rude had no choice but to carry me the whole way up the stairs (it was only one flight) of course, I didn't like to be treated like I was crippled and began protesting and giving Rude and Rufus a hard time. But in the end, we got up the stairs and into the band room, without having anyone get a black eye.

…

Oh, you must be wondering where Genesis was the whole time I was in gym. Well, before I went into the locker rooms, I made Genesis stay with Rufus and Rude, except in their pockets. I retrieved Genesis when Rude let go of me in the band room. So it's all right! Genesis didn't see anything!

In band, I was ambushed with questions again, but this time, I explained that I was in a coma for the past month and a half. But I refused to explain further. We played the songs Hanukah Dance, Celtic Bell Carol, and Christmas Festival and packed up before the ball rang.

The next class was Latin, and I was bothered more than in English. I was happy to see Mr. Elezaro, but the problem was that even though I had a great friend like Daisy, I was stuck sitting in the middle of a class filled with annoying, mouthy, stupidus! (Hehe, stupidus… That's Latin for stupid or idiots) the guy sitting next to me, David, was questioning me with his friend Philip. Argh! I swear he's the most annoying person on the face of the Earth! And his hair is a mess, and his breathe stinks like booty-hole. (Hehe, reference to the 'Just the way you are' by Bruno Mars parody version) And by the way, that was meant to be insulting! XP

The girl that sits in front of me, Artin, she kept asking me "Where were you, Maigen?" and "Who are those hot guys in the back? I just want to… *groans." I shall now shiver and throw up. -_-"

I left Latin early with my things, Rufus, Rude, Genesis (sitting behind my hair.) and a feeling of disgust from what Artin had said. I really didn't need that sound in my head.

I'll be uploading this story every time I get a chance guys!

Thanks so much for the reviews!

Especially to LoreilDarksky00, bibliotaku748, and my newest reviewer, KingofHeartless'09!

Happy New Years!


	11. Chapter IX: Algebra, Lunch, and History

Algebra was a pain; I wrote all the notes down and did all the make-up tests and quizzes. Of course, because Rufus and Rude were following me around, I was questioned again. I just ignored them and pretended to be deaf. But the problem with this class was that the old principal was still in charge, so this period was an hour longer than usual. It was a few days before Halloween, so some people brought in candy to give to everyone.

So, when Mr. Hertz was teaching the lesson, the girl sitting in the front of the first row started to throw candy to random kids around the room behind the teacher's back. He told them to stop, but they just kept throwing that candy around. He had had enough and completely blew up. He yelled so much, his face turned red and he started cursing. Rufus, Rude and Genesis had the O.O look on their faces. I just sighed and head-desked myself. The teacher kept yelling about quitting, so I think Rufus kept that in mind.

After class I visited my locker to put in all my books and stuff, grabbed my lunch and science notebook, and left.

I ate lunch with Rufus and Rude in the teachers' lounge (hehe special privileges from being handicapped)

"So, are the others going to come to school too?" I asked.

Rufus looked at me, "Well yes, since we can't have them in chibi form all the time. I'll think of what we can do for them. You said that we came from a video game franchise, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, the Final Fantasy VII series. The game was made in Japan, a region you would call Wutai, at a company called Square Enix, although it used to be called Square Soft a few years ago."

"I see. So you know everything that has happened in my world and what will happen too?" he asked in a whisper.

I shrugged, "Either way. But I can't tell you about anything that will happen in your world, because for all I know, you could try to change it, but then the series would be all messed up."

Rufus chuckled, "I'm not foolish enough to think that I can change the events that will happen."

I sipped on my water, "From the looks of your hand, you're probably healed from the Geostigma."

Rufus looked down at his hand, "Yes. Although, when I asked Cloud about it, he had no clue who anyone was or what Geostigma is. I spoke to Zack, but all he told me was that he was still training with Angeal when he was brought to this world. I asked Sephiroth about Meteor, but he didn't know what it was either. Genesis only remembered that he had to meet up with Angeal and Sephiroth in the Shinra training room. Angeal only remembered this too. Reno remembers everything I remember, and so do Tseng and Rude, but Kadaj's gang doesn't even know who I am. Then there's Weiss and Nero. They only know that they plan to destroy the Restrictor in Deepground. Valentine told me that those two were supposed to be dead, but no one knows anything other than the time they left."

"That's strange," I muttered. "All of you are from different parts of the series. Judging from what you've told me, Cloud, Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth come in the times before Crisis Core, most likely a few hours before Genesis was hurt in the training room. Kadaj's gang is probably from before Advent Children. You and the Turks are from a little bit after Advent Children, Weiss and Nero are probably from a year or so before Dirge of Cerberus, and Vincent is from directly after Dirge. So only some of you know that Meteor almost fell onto Gaia." I looked to the ceiling and saw Minerva smiling at me. I frowned, "Dang it Minerva, is this what you had in mind? Cause it's not funny at all." I muttered.

Genesis's head popped out of my hair, "You mean the goddess Minerva?"

I looked at him startled and whispered, "The very same one Mr. Rhapsodos."

His eyes grew large, "What was she like?"

I closed my eyes and opened them again, "She's very kind, and she is from my perspective, a great mother-figure. Well, at least she's better than Jenova." I slurred and muttered the last part, so that they didn't understand.

Genesis leaned back onto my neck, "I wish to meet her someday."

I peaked at him and muttered, "You will one day, Genesis. But not on happy terms for everyone else."

After lunch, I raced Rude and Rufus to the History room and had them help me put all the desks in a circle. They sat on either side of me as I got out my current event on my laptop and waited as more of my classmates entered the room.

When Mr. E entered the room, I think it gave everyone the permission to rat me out of my silence.

"Hey Mr. E! Maigen's back and she brought some friends with her!" Kirk yelled out.

I stated muttering, "Seriously? Why did it have to be this class of all classes?"

Mr. E and the rest of the class didn't hear my comment, but Rufus, Rude, Genesis, and the other chibis heard… Mr. E began to act sympathetic of me, "I'm sorry for what happened to you family Maigen. I won't hold it against you for increased aggression, but if you don't feel like talking about it, I understand."

I frowned _M-Hm I don't think there's anything wrong with me, but the way they all acted when I got to school today, it made me seem like I should be in the loony bin. And the only thing I hate more than sympathetic jerkoffs are feign sympathetic jerkoffs. And Mr. E was being both._ "I really don't see what the big deal is, Mr. E. I know what happened… happened, but that doesn't mean that I would just become angry all of a sudden." I looked away, "It's insulting to think that you would think so little of me." _And yeah, I have a problem with being thought weak… or something. I also have a habit of being overly dramatic._

Mr. E looked panicked, "I didn't mean it that way! I meant that you'd probably be upset over the death of your family."

Rufus, Rude, and Genesis stiffened, upon hearing this and I can tell that everyone else who didn't know my situation did the same. The class became silent until my other best friend Katherine, aka Kat, spoke up.

"Hey Maigen? Don't the two guys sitting next to you look a lot like Rufus Shinra and Rude from Final Fantasy VII?" she asked.

I panicked when I saw Rufus open his mouth. My hand flew up and covered his mouth, "Ah, oh it's nothing Katherine. He has the same name as Rufus Shinra, and he looks like him too, he also acts like him, so it's fully believable to call him **the** Rufus Shinra from Final Fantasy VII. Rude is acting like Rude, but his real name is Sebastian Sand. He looks like Rude so I call him that. I mean come on, Kat. Video game characters don't exist in this world!"

She fell for it, "Um ok, but what are they doing in here?"

"Yes, I was about to ask that Maigen. Why?" Mr. E asked me.

Rufus pulled my hand away from his mouth (hehe, I forgot to take it away… XP) and began to speak, "I'm the school's new principal. It is very nice to meet you."

"Oh, ok. What about Mr. Sand? And what are your relationships with Maigen?" Mr. E asked.

_This was really annoying. And I'm sure Rufus and Rude thought so too, but for the sake of a good impression, Rufus and Rude didn't say a think against the questioning._

"Rude is Maigen's guardian during the school day, and I'm her godfather." Stated Rufus.

My eyes widened, _why in the world would he say that I was his goddaughter? And what were his excuses when the others have to attend school? I hope Rufus makes at least some of them apart of my 'new' family._ I instantly hid my surprise and instead faked a pout, "Aww, why did you have to tell them, Ruf?"

Rufus seemed annoyed by my calling him 'Ruf' but smirked knowingly, "Oh I don't know, my cute little mouse. Maybe because I wanted it to be made clear that you're my goddaughter, so if anyone messes with you, they mess with me."

I scoffed, "I can take care of myself, Rufus."

Rude snorted, and I playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows, "Yeah, I don't think so Maigen." Said Kirk.

I frowned, jumped out of the desk and huffed, "You don't know me. None of you truly knows me." I whispered the last part, but Genesis heard me.

The room started to give off a dark aura when Kirk tried to get in my face. Sparks could be seen, trying to ignite an inferno within me. Then out of nowhere, I pulled out a bar of dark chocolate, "Chocolate?" I asked, with a goofy smile on my face.

Kirk grinned, plucked the chocolate bar out of my hands and pulled me into a headlock, while messing with my hair, "Thanks Maigen, but you know I can't stay mad at my 'little sister'. And I'm glad that you weren't hurt." I gave out a loud, happy laugh.


	12. Chapter X: The Troubles of Being a Girl

Chapter X: The Troubles of being a Girl

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We basically ended the erm, topic with that, and got the current events done. The class ended, and Rufus, Rude and I (along with Genesis and the others in the bookbag) were the first ones out of the classroom. We walked up the nearest stairs, (excuse me. I meant to say I was _carried_ up the stairs yet again) to the Orchestra room, which is the same as the Band room. It was so boring; I don't even want to explain anything. Mr. Argo had not gotten back yet, so I was stuck with explaining to an almost deaf Mr. Chalko. Needless to say, a lot of people questioned me again. _Sighs._ Why are all the questions the same every single time? I had a Biology test in 12th period with Genesis sitting on my shoulder, behind my hair. Rufus and Rude went to the office to have a meeting with the Board of Education. I think his welcoming ceremony will be on Monday, so I guess I should let him sleep in Spencer's room so he can think everything through. After school, I waited in front of the office for Rufus and Rude, with my bookbag.

I waited for about 3mins before they came out.

The door opened and out came twenty or so men and women that I've never seen before. At the end was Rufus and Rude. I ran to meet them.

"Rufus! Rude! How was the meeting?" I asked, walking in stride with them. My hands were behind my head casually and Genesis was leaning against my neck. We all walked down the hallway while I waited for my answer from Rufus.

When we got to the stairs, I was carried by Rude again… But Rufus started talking so I didn't make a noise. "The board has voted that I be more alert than the last principal. They've also agreed to let me redo the staff of the 9th grade or to 'recommend' some student teachers. I've decided to check to see if our bank accounts were moved into this world from ours. If so, I plan to remodel the house so that all of us have a room." And somewhere in the depths of the bookbag, I could hear Zack, Cloud, Reno, and Kadaj's gang cheering.

We walked the rest of the way to my locker in silence. But one thing that I didn't anticipate was Benton to be waiting for me by my locker. I rounded the corner and as soon as I saw Mezzo, I jumped behind Rude and whispered, "Hide me!"

Rude merely grunted and kept walking forward. "Why are you hiding?" asked Rufus.

I looked at him, "The guy over there." I said pointing.

Rufus and Rude looked confused, and Genesis made a confused grunt.

"Why, Maigen? He doesn't seem like much of a threat." Evaluated Genesis.

"He's a friend of mine that has a crush on me. It's getting kind of creepy. I mean, just because my mom invited him into our house for some soup, because he walked me home, doesn't mean he has the right to ask to come over my house EVERY SINGLE DAY!" I exclaimed in exasperation. I heard my bookbag zip open and turned to see Sephiroth, Nero, and Kadaj on my right shoulder with Genesis and Zack, Cloud, Weiss, and Reno on my left shoulder. "What are you guys doing on my shoulders? I thought only Genesis was supposed to be on my shoulder!"

Weiss tugged on a piece of my hair, causing me to wince, "Relax. You're considered one of the smartest in the school right? So just pretend we're tiny robots that you made. But we have a mind of our own."

I looked at him skeptically. "But what'll I do when some random woman comes out of nowhere and tries to take you?"

Kadaj took out Souba, "Then we'll just make them release us."

I glared at him, "No. You can't harm anyone in this world." Kadaj shrank back. "Anywho, why are you guys out of the bag?" I could just feel people staring.

"We're out because the bookbag was getting cramped and we wanted to help you with your pest problem." Stated Nero.

I scratched my head, "I wouldn't consider Mezzo a pest but thanks guys."

I grabbed Rufus and Rude's hands and led them over to the locker. I opened it and avoided Mezzo's gaze. I took my jacket out and handed it to Rude, who gave me my books, and I put the books away. I took out my Latin textbook and put it into my bag without squishing anyone. I stood up and closed the locker. I had the chibis on my shoulder hang onto my hair as I put on my jacket and locked my locker.

As soon as I had turned, Mezzo was in front of me, "Oh, hi Maigen. It's nice to see you again. Where were you the past few weeks?" he asked.

I sighed and looked away, "I was away Mezzo, couldn't you tell?" I tried to walk away but he followed me, as did Rufus and Rude, who positioned themselves on either side of me.

Mezzo continued to walk in front of me, "Can I come over your house again- and who are these guys?" he asked pointing at Rufus and Rude.

Rufus glared and Rude stood sternly. I on the other hand, did not like how he was acting and Genesis, Sephiroth, Cloud and Zack probably thought the same, as them popped their heads out of my head, and we all said, "It's **very **rude to point you know."

Mezzo stepped back and err screamed like a little girl. (No he really does sound like a girl when he screams. And he runs like one too. Sucks for him huh? I mean he only has sisters. XP) "OMG! Why are talking Final Fantasy VII characters on your shoulders and why do those two look like Dufus Shinra and Rude?" He made to grab Cloud and Zack, but I smacked his hands away from my shoulder bound friends. (_Hey, I don't like being touched without my consent and Benton was too close for comfort right now. And no one, I repeat no one, manhandles my friends! DX)_

"Don't touch my chibis, Mezzo." I hissed, "And Rufus Shinra,_** my godfather**_, just became our new principal. So if I were you, I'd watch what you say to him."

Mezzo huffed, "Fine, but can I go over to your house?"

We were all in the parking lot now and Rude went ahead to start the car, "No, Mezzo." I answered simply.

"But why?" he questioned. (_Annoying right?)_

Weiss came out of my hair, "Look kid, if she ways no, it's no. Don't question her or you'll have to answer to me. You got it?" I could tell he didn't say it for my sake, but for his and Nero's own minds.

Mezzo scoffed, "Look how small you are, you can't beat me, even if you tried."

I shook my head, as did the other chibis. Rufus sighed, "Stupid kid."

Weiss looked to me, "Shall I?"

I glanced at him, "Just scare him a little bit."

Weiss hopped off my shoulder and grew to full size. I barely reached his shoulder and I was 5 ft so you know he's tall. "What did you say about me? Kid." Weiss bellowed. Everyone around us stopped to stare.

Mezzo's eyes widened and he gulped, "I-I was b-bluffing."

Weiss narrowed his eyes and grabbed my arm, "Come on kid, let's go."

I looked back at Mezzo, who was about to pee his pants and gave him a smile that said 'Sorry, but I did tell you so.' And looked back at Weiss and Rufus, "Yeah, let's go home." I got into the car with Weiss, Rufus, and Rude. Rude was driving, Rufus was sitting shotgun and I was in the back with the other chibis and Weiss.

The car **was** 'silent', but as soon as we parked the car, everything went KA-BOOM! I ran into the house, dropped my bookbag gently on the floor so that the chibis can get out, screamed bloody murder as Weiss tried to strangle me, and ran into my room. I locked the door and escaped the house. There was a large commotion downstairs.


	13. Chapter XI: Recap! Tears and the Truth

Erm let me recap with a little bit more detail. The car ride was going smoothly until Rufus decided to bring up the idea of everyone going to school. The chibis had climbed out of the bookbag to listen in on the conversation.

"I think I'll put all of you guys into school with Maigen." Rufus remarked.

"Now wait just a damn minute, Shinra. Nero and I aren't going to any school with those people back there." Weiss denied pointing behind him, to the school.

"Weiss, we need some of the adults to work in the school. Maigen can't host us all forever you know. She only has so much money." Rufus retorted.

I glanced at Angeal as he talked with the others. "Rufus, if only some of you work, then what'll happen to the others?" I asked.

He turned in the seat to face me, "I'm glad you asked, Maigen. Six of them will become teachers or student teachers. The rest of them will attend school with you. I'm giving you guys until Sunday to decide which ones of you will be teaching."

"Genesis, Sephiroth, and I will become teachers." Angeal announced.

"What?" Zack exclaimed, "Why?'

Angeal looked at Zack, "Do you really think that we look like high school student, Zack?"

Zack backed up with his hands up, "No, I get what you mean." His arms came down. "But if you guys are going to become teachers or something, Vincent, Tseng, and Rude should be teachers too."

I nodded, "Yeah, most of the kids in the school look like they're on steroids so Cloud, Zack, and Kadaj can be in the classes that I have in the 9th grade. Reno will be in 10th grade. Nero, Weiss, and Yazoo can be in 11th grade. And Loz can be in 12th."

"Now wait a minute, you can't make me go to school, little girl." Weiss declared with an angry look in his eyes.

I glared at him, "I'm just saying what I think should be done! I'm not making you do anything." I uncrossed my arms and turned to face away from him.

"Don't you dare face away from me, girl." He yelled grabbing my arms roughly (they hurt now) and spinning me around.

I don't like being touched, kind of like Christopher John Francis Boone from one of my favorite books "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time". Mrs. Armstong let me read the book and I've even got my own copy. So I did what Christopher did in the book, I punched Weiss in the face, which was purely out of reflex. I went pale and everything went silent.

Weiss looked shocked that I would lash out at him, and I really didn't mean to, but quickly recovered from it and gave me an overbearing glare. "You. Are. Dead." He growled with a feral look in his eyes.

Rufus sighed, "Save it for home."

I backed away from Weiss even more, "Uh, sorry?" I gave him the look that Zack usually gave people, hoping that Weiss would forgive me.

Weiss grinned evilly, "Not a chance, you little demon."

I gulped, "H-hey guys, I think you should get into the bag before I get murdered." I gestured to the bag as they sighed and got in. Now let me be clear. ALL of the chibis got in, including the ones on my shoulders. My back was against the door of the car when I zipped the bag shut, and had my keys in hand.

We were pulled to a halt when the car stopped in the street parking space. So I took that as a sign to get the hell out of there. I opened the car door just as Weiss lunged for me, and slammed the door into his face. Knowing that he would be forced to open the door gently, I ran up the street to the front steps and put the key into the lock. I twisted the knob open as fast as I could, as I could see Weiss running after me with his erm… gunblades in hand, and stepped inside the house.

I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag, and ran up the stairs. "*screams Oh God! Run! Run away!" I tripped on the top stairs, but managed to catch myself and ran into my bedroom, closing the steel reinforced wooden door, but unfortunately, I didn't have a lock on the door. I looked around my room to find an escape route, so I opened the window that led to the roof of Spencer's room and the other window. I took out a long rope and tied it to the side of the house, then tossed it down, so that it looked like I ran out the other window, and then went to the window that led to the roof.

I closed the window after grabbing my katana, and locked it. I attached the sword onto the sword hoister and climbed up the roof to the very top. I wrapped my jacket around my body and zipped it up to the rim. I pulled on my leather combat gloves and walked to the small station that I built on the roof. It was a small room on the top of the house that was made out of reinforced steel, barely noticeable because trees from the neighbor obscured it from vision.

Inside the little room were my black Circa combat sneakers, a telescope, my backup Mac book Pro (This one was better than my other one. I ran faster and it only held my profile on it, unlike the other one, which held mom's, dad's, and Nigel's profiles along with mine.), and some food. I put on my sneakers, then took out some canned Chicken Noodle Soup, put it into a coffee cup, and heated it up in the mini microwave. I looked up to the sky through the glass ceiling. The sky got dark faster now. I ran my hand through my hair, though the room gave me warmth and shelter from the elements, it didn't block out all the sound from the outside.

I could hear everything they were saying downstairs as I drank my soup.

"Goddamn it! I didn't know you planned to kill her!"

"She fucking punched me! How in the world was I supposed to act, asshole!"

"Brother, she's only a child."

"Yeah, well she knows too much about us. I say we kill her before she starts telling everyone about who we are."

"Man, I swear, you need to shut up, yo!"

"Hey guys, Maigen isn't in her room and we found a rope hanging out the window.'

"Where could she have run off to?"

"Weiss, you shouldn't have run after her like that! Now look what has happened, we lost Maigen."

"How was I supposed to know that she'd run away?"

"You pulled a weapon on a 14 year old girl, Weiss. How else would she react?"

"You can shut the fuck up, Hewley! It's not my fault she took it seriously."

"'Took it seriously'? You told her that she was dead when we got home. You even had that look on your face! How was she supposed to know that you weren't serious?"

"She shouldn't have gone on about school anyways!"

"She was only trying to help!"

"Well I didn't have to go to school, so it isn't my fault!"

"Yes it is!"

"Damn it, she should've just died with her parents. Then I wouldn't be in this mess. We all wouldn't be in this mess!"

I felt tears flood my eyes. Did he really think of me that way?

I heard a punch and a loud thump. "She gave us shelter and food! I for one am grateful, but what you said just now, was heartless. She's a nice kid that cared for us. What you just said just now… it made you sound like Hojo."

There was silence after that, but I just stayed where I was_. I really should've died that day, should've I?_

"Hey, where did Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj go?"

There was a knock on the door, but I didn't bother to go answer it. I wouldn't be able to face any of them. The door opened, but I didn't turn to see who it was.

"Sister?"

I grunted and looked towards the three. I motioned for them to come in they did and sat down once Yazoo pulled the door shut. "Why are you up here, sister?" Kadaj asked. He looked towards my weapons, "And why do you have weapons with you?"

I sat up and put my soup aside, "I really didn't want to be killed."

"But Weiss didn't mean it!" Loz piped in.

"Yeah, but I heard what he said about me. I really shouldn't be alive. I was shot in fatal places, I lost so much blood, and yet out of the whole family, why did I survive?"

"You shouldn't be thinking that way, Maigen. All three of us have come to accept you as family, maybe even more. Weiss had no right saying those things about you. You should come back down." Yazoo spoke softly.

I nodded and made to get up, but all of a sudden, a pain went through my whole entire body and I fell forward. "D-damn it! Not again."

I didn't know who caught me, but I assumed that it was Kadaj, as they had a stature that's similar to my own.

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Maigen fell forward just as she began to stand. "D-damn it! Not again." She whispered, falling unconscious just as Kadaj caught her.

He shook her shoulder, "Maigen, wake up! Come on please wake up!"

When she didn't stir, all three brothers began to worry. Loz began to weep, "Maigen? Please wake up."

Yazoo stepped forward and placed a hand to her neck in an attempt to find her pulse. "She's alive, but I think we should get her into her room.'

Loz picked Maigen up and began to walk out of he small shelter on the roof. All three of them went into Maigen's room and set her on the bed after taking her jacket and shoes off. After they tucked her into bed, they walked downstairs.

"Hey guys, little sister's unconscious in her room." Kadaj announced with worry.

Everyone stood up from the dining room table, "Why? And when did she get back?" asked a distraught Angeal.

"She never left." Stated Yazoo simply.

"Then why couldn't we find her?" asked Reno, a bit dumbly.

"Maigen was on the roof the whole time listening to your conversation." Yazoo retorted.

Weiss stood up his hair shadowed his eyes. He said not a word as he walked to the staircase. Or at least, he tried to…

"Where do you think you're going, Weiss?" asked Tseng, grabbing hold of his arm.

Weiss didn't answer he only yanked his arm back and continued to walk upstairs. Tseng looked to the others for support, but found none. Sighing, Tseng took a seat on the couch "We're just going to let them be in the same room together? Alone?"

"It's alright, big brother just wanted to apologize to Maigen." Replied Nero softly.

The room relaxed, as Rufus sat at the table sorting out what they were going to do on Monday.

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It was black. That was all I had to say. It was cold, dark, and just black. I couldn't see, and even my tongue didn't work. I could only smell and hear. This wasn't unusual. If my body goes under a great amount of stress mentally, I fall unconscious. I knew that Kadaj put me on the bed, and could hear their footsteps going down the stairs. I had a feeling that all of them were talking about me and that they were worried, but I so wish that I could tell them that I was ok and that nothing was amiss.

I heard heavy, yet quiet footsteps going up the stairs, and even a fool could tell that those footsteps were Weiss's. I waited as the footsteps came closer to my room, then to my bed. I dreaded that he was going to kill me, but to my surprise, I heard him sigh.

A chair was dragged to the bedside and I heard him sit in it. He smelt like musk and oranges, it was a fitting smell for a man like him. Oh wow, I sound so… so… so not me. But anyways, I liked the smell. I felt a hand on my head, brushing away the strands of hair on my head. "Nero and the others talked some sense into me. I really didn't want to come up here, but Nero really forced me to." I felt him lean over me, "I'm sorry for what I said. You're not a bad person and I respect you for that. You could've thrown us onto the street yesterday, right? Yet you let us all live here even though you barely have enough to survive on your own. I know that you probably hate me right now. I'm sorry for what I said, ok? I don't know what it's like to have a little sister, so I think I'll start learning now." I felt a light peak on my forehead, "After all, Nero does seem to have taken a liking to you. He's silent I know but, I think you should hang out with him."

I screamed in my mind, _what the heck is happening to the world? I wake up from a coma and then the world decides to go haywire on me? I don't think Weiss would actually say these things._

The darkness flashed white for a moment and then fully changes into the Lifestream.

I saw Minerva and started to talk, but no words came out. Minerva turned towards me, "Do you understand now? You're alive because they need you. Weiss confessed that you are important to him. Nero seems to think highly of you himself, and Kadaj and his brothers care for you as if you were their own sister. I think it's about time that you see what they see." She waved her hand over the spot in front of us and a figure in it appeared. She had layered glossy black hair, cut liked Genesis's haircut or the same as Ulquiorra's hairstyle. She had on a kind smile, was a little bit on the meaty side, but she was a cute looking girl. My eyes widened. This girl was I.

The room went black and I could feel Weiss besides me still, but I could hear soft snoring. I opened my eyes and turned my head. Sure enough, Weiss's head was next to mine on the pillow and he was on my bed asleep. He looked like a sleeping teddy bear. I glanced at the clock across the room. 8:23pm it was too late to eat now and I didn't want to wake Weiss up, so I uncovered the blankets and covered Weiss too. I buried myself deeper into the blanket and snuggled up to Weiss. Hey, you can't blame me he was really warm. Needless to say, I fell asleep right away.

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Weiss woke up somewhere around 3am. He looked around the room, noting that he was still in Maigen's room. He glanced at the blankets that lay on top of him. Then, he felt suddenly aware of the small figure next to him. He turned his head and was faced with a sleeping Maigen. The facts pieced themselves in his mind. He was sleeping on top of the blankets the last he remembered. So that means that if Maigen did wake up, she must've put the blankets on him. His eyes widened, but grew soft. The girl didn't run from him as soon as she woke up. He gently got up from the bed, tucked her in again and left the room.


	14. Chapter XII: The Mall w Rude Awakenings

AN! Sorry everyone! This story is one of many that I will be updating, so yeah. I won't ask for your forgiveness, so I'll just say it quickly… I've been lagging behind on my other stories and ended up neglecting this one! I'm working on a Death Note story, a Bleach story, a Vampire Knight self-insert collaboration with Bibliotaku748, a Genesis Rhapsodos one shot, an April Fools' Day trick for school… which I hope I won't get into trouble for, and a Kuroshitsuji story! Please bear with me! And I'm sorry for all the long wait!

I woke up to the bright light of the Saturday sun. I grumbled, wishing that I could get a little bit more sleep. However, due to my body's protest, I couldn't do that, as once I'm up, I'm up and I can't fall back asleep. I hopped out of bed, but since I don't pay attention to where I step in the morning, jumped right on top of well… Genesis. -_-; I swear I didn't see him!

"Gwah!" Genesis yelled. He sat up quickly. Way too quickly, so I ended up losing my balance and fell RIGHT ON TOP OF HIM. My face went crimson red; I think my eyes had swirllies in them too.

I stared at Genesis for like 20 seconds, until I ran into the bathroom.

**Do you know what the worst thing about living with guys is? … You never know what they're going to do or where they are. Especially when you're me and you have trouble thinking when you've just woken up.**

I locked the door and walked to the sink to brush my teeth. And I'm gonna skip details for this. As soon as I was done doing whatever it is that I do in the morning, I walked back into the room to find Genesis on my bed, asleep. I looked down at the floor and noticed the inflatable mattress. So that's what Genesis was sleeping on… Wait a minute, where's Weiss? I glanced around the room and scratched my head. _ Maybe he left the room while I was asleep…_ I walked down the stairs to see Vincent on the couch sleeping, with Nero, Sephiroth, and Cloud sleeping on the floor beds. I walked into the dining room to see Rufus, Weiss, Tseng, and Rude at the table.

They looked up at me. "Good morning." They grumbled. Apparently, they're not morning people…

So I decided to cheer up their gloomy morning, "We're going to the mall today!" I announced happily.

Rude fell off the chair… and Tseng headesked himself. Weiss scoffed, "You expect us to come with you to the mall a shop?"

I nodded, the smile never leaving my face. "But you guys don't want to where the same thing everyday, right? My dad and brother's clothes won't fit you all."

Rufus sighed and stood up. "Fine, but we're taking everyone with us." He walked into Spencer's room and I heard a loud yelp. "Reno wake up. We're all goin to the mall." I immediately took off into the living room.

I pocked Vincent on the forehead, I couldn't even pock him a second time because he woke up and was grabbing my wrist. Possibly out of sheer reflex. "What, Maigen?" He asked.

I grinned, "We're all going out to get you guys some clothes and stuff."

He got up from the couch and I walked over to Nero and lightly shook him, "Nero, wake up."

"For what reason, could you possibly have to wake me up?" was the first thing he said, when he opened his eyes and saw me grinning like an idiot.

My smile grew wider when I remembered what Weiss told me last night, **"After all, Nero does seem to have taken a liking to you. He's silent I know but, I think you should hang out with him."** And indeed did I have some warming up to do with Nero. "We're going to the mall to get some clothes for you guys." I stood up and offered my hand to him, "It's time to get up." Nero stared at my hand and my red face, _(Yeah, I get embarrassed easily. It's not a very good thing about me)_ then grasped my hand as I pulled him to stand.

Nero went into the dining room, as I walked over to Cloud. I glanced to Sephiroth's bed, but it was empty. He must've woken up. I heard many footsteps upstairs, so I assumed that someone had woken everyone up. I crouched next to Cloud and whispered in his ear. "Wakey, wakey, little Chocobo. Time to get up before Tifa throws you out of your bed."

Cloud sat up really fast, "Noo! Don't throw me!" As I mentioned before, he sat up fast, so he ended up smacking me in the face with his hard head.

My hands flew up to my face. "Argh! M$&*%F#($&$! God damn, it hurts!" I fell onto my side and writhed in pain. My face hurt like a son of a bit%*! I could feel blood on my hands, I threw Cloud an accusing stare, "I'm never waking you up ever again."

Cloud saw the blood and began panicking. "I'm sorry, Maigen. Here, let me help you." He helped me stand without my having to take my hand away from my nose. I was set on the couch, as he ran into the kitchen to get some towels and an icepack.

I heard steps and looked to the source. It was Angeal, and he was confused. "What happened to you, Maigen?"

I stared at him and simply pointed to Cloud's head as he knelt down to put the icepack on my nose. "I was trying to wake up Cloud, but he sat up too fast and hit my nose with his head."

Angeal shook his head and headed into the kitchen. One by one, everyone woke up, and each time, I had to explain why my nose was bleeding. After about 30mins my nose stopped bleeding, so I went ahead to take a shower.

I came out wearing boy jeans, a white button down dress shirt, a black tie, and socks. My wet hair was messy, but it looked fine. I flew down the stairs and landed on the living room floor. I headed towards my brother's room and made a gesture towards the closet where everyone in the family stored their clothes. I threw out clothes for everyone to wear.

I grabbed three car keys from the counter and tossed one each to Rude, Reno, and Yazoo. We left the house at about 11:37am. I rode with Reno, Genesis, Sephiroth, and Kadaj. (OMG don't let me die due to Reno's driving!)

I gave Reno the directions to the bank, and got Rude and Yazoo to follow our car.

I sat in the middle of the back seat in between Kadaj and Genesis. I sighed and took out my bankbook. We parked at the bank and I went inside to withdraw like $2,ooo (remember the money I got because of those murderers) I left the bank and got into the car again.

"Reno, search the navigation system for Willow Brook mall. That's where we're heading."

Kadaj began to tap against the door about 10 minutes later. He was antsy…. That's for sure. He was annoying the hell out of all of us… Reno exploded while we were on route….230? I'm not sure… We had to deal with Reno's bitching the entire drive… -_-" do you know how much of a pain it was?

Anyways… we got to the mall about 10 more minutes after Reno's outburst. All three of the cars parked and we got out. We entered the mall and stood at the entrance for a few minutes.

I turned to everyone, "Ok! We're going to find a whole wardrobe for each of you! I'm assigning teams guys! Angeal, Vincent, Tseng, Rude, and I are the captains. Weiss, and Nero will come with me. Zack, and Reno will go with Angeal. Loz, Sephiroth, and Genesis will go with Tseng. Kadaj and Cloud will go with Vincent. And Rude will take Rufus, and Yazoo. We meet back here in four hours!"

With that, I led Nero and Weiss to a random store and had them dress up for me. Nothing quite caught my eye for what they looked good in. And believe me it was very rare. About 2 hours later, and we walked out of the store with an arm full of bags.

I decided to head into an anime and video game store and trust me, that wasn't the best thing that I could've done.


	15. Chapter XIII: Family Visit & A Breakdown

******Continued from Chapter XII: The Mall w/ Rude Awakenings**

I jumped around the mall scanning through the merchandise. I looked at my wallet and smiled happily. I ran to grab an Akatsuki Cloak, Hidan's scythe, Sharingan contact lenses, Mako eye contact lenses, and plushies… lots and lots of plushies. My total came down to… $383. I grinned as I handed the cashier the money and turned to the entrance.

I stopped walking when I heard a whole crap load of fangirl squeals. I turned my head to see Weiss and Nero attempting to get away from a crowd of fans. I groaned, "How could I forget about **that**?

I walked closer to the crowd of women/men. "OMG are you like, cosplaying for a convention or something?"

"Forget that! Can I bring them home with me?"

"Yeah, I don't mind getting a piece of that!"

TT^TT… That was my face after hearing all that. I began to make my way through the crowd. "Excuse me!" I called out, only to be pushed back by some skinny skank with really short shorts… in the beginning of winter, and a shirt that showed too much cleavage. I glared up at her (I hate being so short) "What's your problem? I have to get through!"

"Oh I'm sorry midget. I didn't see your fat ass. But you don't need to get through. You don't have a chance with these guys like me. So why don't you go back to your parents and ask them why they didn't make you beautiful like me." The w**** declared arrogantly.

I got up from the floor and jabbed a finger at her, "Beautiful?" I questioned. "There's nothing beautiful about you! You look like a failed arts-n-crafts project from a 2-year-old! I may not be tall or ridiculously skinny, but don't you dare think you're better than me!"

The woman tried to make herself look almighty, "The hell do you think you are, asswipe?"

My glare intensified, "I'm just a kid, b****. And don't insult me or I'll f*** your face up so bad, your mother won't be able to tell you from s*** and your boyfriend would breakup with you for being a m************ assface of a b****, who tried to be a w****, but failed because you couldn't f****** be loved for your life! Now get out of my way!"

She looked horrified that she lost a yelling match to a child and ran away crying. She should've never picked a fight with me. I don't usually cuss unless I was really mad. I only curse like that because my family was made up of people with the mouths of sailors. So that pretty much explained why I started cursing like that.

I shoved past the crowd (no easy feat) and grabbed both Nero and Weiss's hands after hooking the bags on my wrists. "Come one guys. Time to look for the others." The crowd tried to follow us, so I stopped them with the 'Uchiha glare'.

They all shuddered and slowly backed away.

I smirked evilly, "That's right. You had all better back away fast." Nero and Weiss said nothing as they looked at me in appreciation.

I continued to move forward, knowing that the two brothers were right behind me. We ran into all the groups at the food court. I didn't care what we ate because I was too busy staring at the about of bags that each person had. I think each person had about 3 pairs of really expensive shoes, 5 pants, 6 shirts, and 2 sets of under garments. Two sets meaning two weeks worth. I sweatdropped. It was a good thing that I used my mom's credit card and not cash.

We all decided on grabbing some Starbucks to go. Mmmmmm! Hardly healthy I know, but my family prides itself with being fat-asses that weren't fat. No wait. Slightly meaty, but it's hardly noticeable unless I wear short shorts or skirts… that my friends, is the difference between me and other people. I know I don't look good, so I don't dress in stuff that shows off my body. But then again, I wouldn't do that anyway…

We were eating, each of our respected orders (I love Marble Pound Cake and Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino! For everyone else's orders… use your imagination.) on the way home. When we got to the house, we unloaded all of our stuff and walked into the house one by one.

"Hey! Maigen!" a familiar voice called out.

I froze while closing the front door and mechanically turned my head to the right. _FTW. This is NOT happening. No! Why of all the people to come visit me? My dad's side of the family!_

I closed the door a little and yelled at everyone. "Everyone! This is an emergency! My family's walking up the street, so can you move all the bags into my room and turn into chibi form? Genesis, Rufus, Angeal, and Sephiroth, stay in that form."

I watched with nervousness as everyone except the mentioned, ran back upstairs. Oh dear lord… my head's killing me! I pointed to the couch, "Guys, just sit. Act like you're here for like an interview or something."

They sat and I opened the door for my family, "What are you doing here?" I asked in a less than friendly tone.

Uncle Ellis, the shortest out of my uncles, replied, "We came here to discuss your living arrangements and where your parent's money goes."

I scratched the back of my head and let in all 5 cousins, 3 uncles, and 3 aunts. They were the epitome of some of my unhappiness during childhood, and the source of my parent's hate.

"Maigen? Who're the guys on your couch?" Carrol (my eldest female cousin), asked, pointing to said men.

"They're friends of mine." I called back after closing the door. I turned around and blatantly demanded, "What could you possibly have to discuss with me about my living arrangements and my parent's money?"

"You're going to be sent to an orphanage, Maigen. We've all decided that we can't take care of you." Uncle Ellis spoke for everyone.

"Now wait just a minute!" Genesis called out, standing up from the couch. "Maigen's been fine living here!"

"She's been living with you four, hasn't she?" Uncle Ellis asked…

"So what, Uncle Ellis?" I retorted at him.

He growled in annoyance, "You will not speak like that to your elders!"

I stepped forward, "Who I live with doesn't matter! You came hear to discuss my living arrangements, but they've already been taken care of! I will live in this house, with my friends. The government has volunteered to pay for the bills, so the only thing you have to talk about is my parent's will!"

He scowled, "We've all decided that since we are family, we will each get a portion of the money your parents left behind."

I clenched my fists. "Ain't happening old man. That money is rightfully mine and none of you are getting a part of it!"

Aunt Aris stood up, "It's only fair-!"

"It's only fair?" I interrupted, "It's only fair?" My temper rose above its normal limit. "This whole situation isn't fair! You have never helped support this family! You accused my mother of stealing your money! You talk about us behind our backs for so many years! You called my father, your brother an idiot for marrying my mother! Now you think it's fair to take the money that I've inherited after their deaths?"

I was about to begin to beat the living sh** out of them, but Sephiroth stood behind me to restrain my actions. "No Maigen. That's not going to make things better."

By this time, I began to sob. I finally let the whole situation take hold and broke down in tears.

"While what you say is true, we also have something else to talk to you about!" Aunt Regina butted in.

Uncle Jack nodded, "Where did you get those weapons to kill the murderers with?"

I stared at them, "You must be idiots for not noticing. My parents got those for me. Dad has a gun license and mom has a sword license, too! They've been teaching me how to use the weapons for the past year! Heck! I've been taking kendo, capoeira, karate, and other self-defense for years now!"

Rufus stood up with Angeal; "I suggest you leave the house now. I will not have you upsetting her. If you do not leave, I will call my private bodyguards."

"Just remember that we are not done discussing this matter, Maigen!" with that, my worthless family took their leave, but not before screaming our, "Your mother got what she disserved and you will too!"

After Sephiroth closed the door and the others came back down in their regular forms, I broke down completely defeated. Genesis pulled me into a hug as I sobbed into his chest.

"Shhh. It's alright Maigen. They're gone now. They're not going to bother you again." Genesis's words began to soothe me, but I still cried.

"Damn it! Who do they think they are? They can't talk to her like that and not expect to get beaten to a pulp!" Weiss ranted.

"Brother, calm down. You'll only make the situation worse." Nero tried to reason.

"You care for her too, right? Then why aren't you upset about little sister?" Kadaj yelled back at him.

"I don't know what to do for her. I am a monster. I cannot comfort another being. It is impossible." Nero replied.

"That isn't the way to talk, Nero. You're not a monster!" Zack tried to reason.

"Yes I am! I have the power of oblivion within me! Everyone that I become close to, with the exception of Weiss, has been taken from me!" Nero began to rant, "I even killed my own mother!"

Reno had an anger mark on his head. He was snapping.

"But that doesn't mean that'll happen in this world!" Cloud threw in.

"I can still use my powers in this world, so that will never happen!" Nero threw back, causing Cloud and I to flinch.

Finally, Reno snapped, "Nero! Get over yourself! Vincent has the same power as you… well similar to it, and look," he pointed, "Even he's trying to comfort Maigen! Also! This whole argument over your self-loathing, isn't making the situation better!"

Silence greeted the house, as I felt Vincent kneel next to me, "Are you going to be okay?"

I shook my head, "I-I d-don't know!" I gripped Genesis's shirt tighter, "It hurts Vincent. It hurts too much!"

I heard him sigh and felt a hand run through my hand, "I know it is, Maigen. It was the same with me."

"Genesis, Vincent?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"Yes?" both replied.

"I'm tired and my heart hurts." My weak voice came out.

I felt myself get lifted up. "Don't fall asleep yet, Maigen. You still have to change and brush your teeth."

I did what he told me when he set me inside the bathroom and gave me my PJs. I felt him carry me to my room and lay me on the bed. He was about to leave, but I caught his hand.

He peered down at me, "Yes?"

I scooted over, "Stay with me?"

I heard him sigh and slide in, "Fine." I shivered and blushed when he pulled me towards his chest. "Stay close to me if you're cold."

I turned to snuggle into his chest, "What are you? My father?"

As I drifted into Queen Mab's false spell, I failed to hear Genesis's response, "No. Hopefully more."

^&*()*&^%$#$%^&*(&^%$$%^&*(&^%$##$^&*(&^*%$#$%^&*(&^%$#%^&*(&^%$#%^&*&^%$%^&*(&^%$#%^&*()*&^%$%^&*(&^$%^&*&^%$%^&*(&^%$^&*&^%$#$%^&*()*&^%$#!#$%^&*()(&^()*&^%$##$%^&*()*&^%$#$%^&*(&^%^

**Was it too cheesy? Who will I end up with? Nero? Genesis?... Rude? Lol joking. But what do you think? Review!**


	16. Chapt XIV: Boku no kokoro ga miemasu ka?

**Disclaimer! BANEHiwatari doesn't own Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, or any other anime, manga, and video game that might be mentioned in this or any story. I also don't own Gackt or his songs. I only own Maigen… and any other OCs in this story!**

**OKAY! Chapter XIV: 'Boku no kokoro ga miemasu ka?' Begins right now!**

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5 o'clock in the morning… Halloween 2010

I shivered. _Colddd_. The October weather began to grow cold. I felt warmth behind me, so I turned and snuggled closer. "Hmmm. So warm." Arms encircled my waist, but I continued to stay like that for about 5 more minutes before I opened my eyes. They grew wide….

Why? Well, that's any easy question to answer.

It's because Genesis's face was RIGHT THERE! Now there were two choices that I could take at this point:

Blush and squeal like the fan-girl that I am

Or

Scream my head off…

So naturally, I'd pick the latter of the two, but then I remembered that I asked him to stay with me… So I hopped out of bed, careful to not step on Weiss and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I redressed my wounds and groaned in annoyance. _Why is it that every time I woke up the past few days, there was a hot guy in my bed?_ I blushed crimson… _Erm… I think it's better if I don't think about it. I'll most-likely die of embarrassment or get a nosebleed… Especially since I seem to get them randomly… Urgh! Bad mind! Bad, BAD mind! Don't think about that stuff! Just brush your teeth and get out of the bathroom… And DON'T think about yesterday… oh wait I just did. Urgh just continue. _I made sure my footsteps were quiet as I walked around. I didn't usually get up this early, but there was a lot to do.

I had to do the homework that my other teachers gave me… I HATE HOMEWORK SO MUCH!

…

But I hated it more now that I remembered that today was Halloween. That meant a ridiculous amount of doorbell ringing. I sighed and stared at the clock. 10:38am and none of the others were awake yet. The phone rang, so I quickly picked it up. (AN: The conversation was in Chinese, but because I haven't figured out how to type the characters in, I'll translate any conversations in Chinese to English.)

"Hello, is Miss Maigen there?" a man called through the phone.

I nodded even though I knew that he couldn't see me, "This is she."

"Hello Maigen. My name is Thomas Long. I'm a friend of your mother." Long said. (I usually call strangers or people that I'm unfamiliar with by their last name.)

"I remember you! You're the man who arranged most of the family funerals!" I quietly exclaimed.

"Yes. I wanted to speak with you about your family's funeral and I'm sorry for your loss." Long consoled.

"No need, Mr. Long. Let's see… My family is to be cremated. The service is to be held in Queens, since that funeral home can hold more than 100 people at once. I assume you know which one?" (AN: Queens is in New York…)

"Yes. What day should the funeral be?" Long questioned.

"November 13. The next day, will be the cremation then we will have dinner." I started to tear up as I stared at the calendar. "I want everyone attending to celebrate my little brother's 12th birthday."

"And how many people shall be attending?"

"About 200." I stated. "My family has many friends and I want to invite some special guests."

"Any other special arrangements?" Long asked.

I hesitated, "… Yes. Can you call the Rooster Teeth company on my behalf and ask is they can attend the funeral? I'll provide the plane tickets. My little brother has always wanted to meet them." My eyes watered and I began to cry silently.

"Of course, Miss. Is there anything else?" Long replied.

"Yeah. I want a piano there, so that I can play it for them. No hymns, we're not religious. I want my mother in a kimono, and my father and brothers in yukatas. That's about all… Oh! And dinner will be arranged with my uncle Jacob Tsurugi."

I gave Long my uncle's number and hung up.

Silently sobbing, I stood up, only to be tackle hugged from behind, "Good Morning, cutie!"

"I'm NOT CUTE!" I screamed in a shrill voice, flipping Zack off my back and stared as he landed with a loud _'thud'_ on the floor in front of me.

"OW!" he cried out.

I heard running in Spencer's room and stared, dumbfounded with tear stained cheeks, as Reno came running out with his stun rod… and only in his boxers. I screamed, while blushing, which startled Reno into tripping over Zack and landing on his rod, which nailed him where the sun doesn't shine.

"Gagh!" He yelled out in pain, still half asleep.

I sobbed and laughed at the same time, "G-Good m-morning?"

"What in Jenova's name happened?" a deep voice sounded behind me.

My eyes widened and when I turned around to face THAT person I remembered that picture of the crazy Sephiroth that was out to kill everyone. Then I remembered that it was because of Jenova that Sephiroth turned evil. What was my first reaction? I screamed and ran away from Sephiroth while yelling, "DEATH TO JENOVA!" DX

I ran to the couch and crawled under the blanket with Vincent (who was like O.o;) and squeaked, "Hide me." while slapping a hand on my mouth to shut me up.

Vincent grunted, "Why are you crying?"

I froze, "I'm not."

A hand swiped my cheek and was stuck in front of my face, "Yes you are. Don't hide your emotions with a smile and false impressions."

I tried to hold the tears back, but they just continued to fall. I sat up and began to sob harder. "I-I miss m-my family!"

I felt a hand on my back and stared at Vincent, who was just staring at the ground. "It's alright to cry, Maigen."

I blinked for a few minutes before leaning into Vincent and breaking down completely. By now, the whole house was awake and sitting around, trying to comfort me.

After what seemed like hours, I stopped sobbing. I rubbed my eyes and began to smile, "Thanks for being here guys." I turned to face Vincent, "I really needed that Vincent, thank you."

Weiss was the first to break the silence, "What the hell happened to Reno and Zack?"

All heads turned to the two, who were still on the floor of the dining room. Then back to me. Sephiroth had a little tick mark on his forehead, "I want a full explanation. Right now."

I scratched my head, "I was making funeral arrangements." The air turned grim, so I panicked, "After that, Zack snuck up behind me, so I was startled into flipping him onto the floor. Then Reno came out half dressed with his stun rod, so I screamed, which caused him to trip over Zack and stun his er… waist area. Then Mr. General startled me by asking what had happened and because he said 'JENOVA', I flipped out and ran away from him. After that, you all know the rest."

Everyone nodded like they thought that that was the case. The day went by like this:

1) I had everyone clean the house! (Almost two months on no cleaning, so I'm freaking out because my mom would freak out! She was a very picky and OCD aka obsessive cleaning disorder… yes I already know it's supposed to be obsessive compulsive disorder, but I'm changing it!)

2) We had lunch (I can go a day without a meal. I already skipped breakfast…)

3) And finally, Rufus informed us of the plan with everyone going to school… He only told me that he was going to take them all to school the next morning, before I woke up. Then I was not so happily locked in my room so that I would be… _surprised_ tomorrow.

I gave up on opening the door. Rude was sitting in front of the door and no matter how much karate practice I had, I just wasn't strong enough to open it. So I resulted to random pounding on the door. "Let _bang_ me _bang_ out _bang_ of _Bang _here _BANG!_" I growled out in between punches. I took one last punch and jumped back in surprise when the door did open and an angry looking Angeal stood there instead.

I gulped, fear settling in my stomach at the icy look he gave me. "CALM DOWN."

I nodded quickly while diving under the bed covers to hide from his unnerving gaze. I heard the door close and some argument started downstairs.

"WELL FUCK YOU SHINRA!" a loud and deep voice bellowed.

I sat straight up in the bed. Even my mother didn't yell that loud when she was angry.

"I DON'T WANT TO POSE AS THAT GIRL'S COUSIN!"

"YOU DON'T HAVE A SAY IN THIS AT ALL WEISS!"

"WHY THE FUCKING HELL NOT?"

"LISTEN CLOSLY YOU FUCKING RETARDED ASS OF A BASTARD! THAT GIRL UP THERE HAPPENS TO CARE ABOUT US ALL! DON'T DISRESPECT HER! YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO POSE AS FAMILY!"

"Yes brother. I agree with Hewley. I find her ethnicity very important for our fake identities. After all, the girl's mixed ethnicity will easily explain how we are her cousins yet we look so different from her."

"DON'T START ON ME TOO, NERO!"

"Argh! At least your brother has some sense in his words. You however, have no reasoning at all."

"I DON'T WANT TO REASON! I JUST WANT TO GET BACK TO OUR WORLD!"

"THIS IS THE LAST I WANT TO HEAR OF THIS ISSUE!"

I knocked on the door, "Rude. Is everything okay out there?"

"I assume you heard their shouting." His voice came through the door.

I felt a clenching in my stomach and began to panic, "R-Rude? Open the door up please. I have to go empty the pipes."

"… Excuse me?" he called back.

I growled, "I got to go pee, take a wiz, take a leek, whatever you want to call it. Just _please_ open the door!"

The door swung in and I ran out and into the bathroom…

Ah… 3 minutes later… (Awkward…)

I sighed as I shook the water droplets from my hands. Staring at the mirror in front of me, I lightly traced over the scar on my forehead from an accident in 2nd grade. I turned to the door, only to have it open and hit me in the foot.

Hopping up and down while clutching my foot I glared at Sephiroth, who had an amused smirk on his face. "You idiot! Knock when you come in! For all you know I could've been taking a shower!"

Sephiroth's brow rose, "The door was unlocked."

I was about to land on my foot, but I slipped on the water droplets and fell forward. "Argh!" I screamed as I collided with Sephiroth's tone chest. Um… his chest was bare. / Thankfully or unthankfully… I can't really decide whether this was a good thing or bad thing, Sephiroth caught me in time from hitting the floor.

But the world must hate me because then **HE** _slipped on the water droplets_. The **GREAT GENERAL SEPHIROTH, THE ONE WINGED ANGEL, THE ENEMY OF THE PLANET, AND THE HOT AS HELL KITTY-EYED MEMBER OF THE EPITOME OF SEXINESS SOLDIER GROUP**, fell backwards on a drop of water that led to me falling on top of him…

"Hey Seph-…" a voice stopped short, "Sorry am I interrupting something here?"

I felt my face overload from the embarrassment of getting caught in such an awkward position with… I think I should shut that thought before I grow irrational… I glanced up at the new arrival in horror. A livid Genesis stood about three feet away from us.

I scrambled off of Sephiroth and ran after Genesis, who had walked halfway down the stairs.

"W-wait, Genesis. This isn't what you think it is!" I yelled out as I paused in mid-step to prevent myself from colliding with his back.

Genesis spun around, his face showing disbelief. "Wasn't what I thought it was? You were laying **on top** of him!"

I noticed out of the corner of my left eye that everyone had gathered to watch. "I tripped in the bathroom! Sephiroth only caught me, but he also slipped! Why won't you believe me?" I pleaded, holding back my tears. I always had this problem with crying easily…

"I just don't okay!" Genesis exclaimed. "And I don't have to answer to a whore like you!"

My eyes widened at what he called me. I stepped back up one stair as I imagined my face taking on one of disbelief, horror, sadness, betrayal, and hurt. I felt the tears welt up even more, "A w-whore?" my voice cracked as the tears fell. "W-wha… w-why? I haven't treated you horribly and I don't throw myself at every man I meet!"

Genesis's face took on one of horror as he realized the reality of what he said to me, "Mai-…"

I shook my head, "I'm a whore right? So it's alright if I take myself out of your live forever?" I spun around and ran back upstairs, right past Sephiroth and Rude, and into my room. I slammed the door shut and dove into the bed letting my hurt overtake me as I drifted into unconsciousness.

Nobody's POV

Everyone stared in silence as Maigen ran back to her room, each wincing at the slammed door. The silence and tension in the air hung around them like a thick fog. All heads turned to Genesis who had the plain look of regret on his handsome face. Genesis could feel all their eyes on him.

Angeal glared at Genesis, "That was out of line Genesis."

Kadaj's eyes took on a psychotic gleam, "He hurt little sister…" he mumbled.

Yazoo lay a hand on Kadaj, "There's no point in trying to fight a First Class SOLDIER, Kadaj."

Kadaj spun around to swat Yazoo's hand away, "He hurt little sister! She did nothing wrong so why did he call her that horrible name!"

Loz started to cry, "Is she going to be alright?"

Zack stood up from his seat on the couch. His right fist was clenched tightly as he strode up to Genesis. Everyone knew what Zack was going to do yet no one bothered to stop him. They were tired of having Maigen get emotional breakdowns because of them. With that being said, they were slightly glad that Zack punched Genesis.

Zack stared down at Genesis coldly. "Go apologize to her right now! She doesn't need this from you right now! She had to make funeral arrangements this morning and now you're just making it worse for her! I don't care if you're my superior or not. If you," he turned around and gestured to everyone, "ALL of you… make Maigen cry again, I'll beat the shit out of you!"

Kadaj walked over to Genesis and knelt in front of the SOLDIER. "Zack already hit you, so it'll be wrong if I hit you again." Kadaj stared Genesis right in the eye, "If you don't apologize to **my** little sister **immediately**, I will see to it that the rest of your stay here, will be a living hell."

Genesis visibly shivered, but he glowered at the young man in front of him. This **boy**, who was barely 16, resembled Sephiroth too much. The way he looked down upon him… Genesis **hated** it. Standing up, our LOVELESS obsessed First Class SOLDIER roughly pushed Kadaj out of the way. "I don't need any of you to tell me what I did was wrong."

His eyes met Sephiroth's as he climbed the stairs. The Silver Haired General nodded, signaling that he knew what Genesis was going to do next and confirming that what Maigen said was true. Sighing, Genesis looked away as he walked out of view from the others.

Back to my POV!

I sniffled a little and froze when footsteps came up the stairs slowly. I pulled the covers over me even more and curled into a fetal position. I knew who it was, but I didn't have the guts to face him. How could I? He called me a **whore**. I mean who'd forgive a person who insulted their pride and honor? Urgh, I sound like Angeal.

A knock sounded at the closed door. I didn't respond. I only cowered even more. I didn't bother to lock the door before. I was too upset.

The door opened and the sound of feet on the wooden floor steadily approached my curled up form. A hand touched my shoulder and I flinched while whimpering. I peeked out of the blanket to star at Genesis's… um feet.

Genesis hesitated but placed his hand back onto my shoulder, "Maigen? Can you please get out of bed? I need to speak with you."

My eyes grew teary. My only response was to wrap the green, pink, and white stripped sheets tightly to my small form. Genesis sighed dejectedly before walking to close the door, then walking back to the bed and pushing me over, closer to the wall.

I gave a not-so-quiet squeal in response. It sounded like: 'Nyah!'… Yep, like an anime neko. By the time I recovered Genesis was once again in my bed, much to my horror. DX

I squirmed back closer to the wall so that I was practically against it. Tears still fell from my eyes as I turned my back to Genesis, who gave off an intimidating aura.

"I'm sorry Maigen. I lose my temper a lot, but I didn't mean to call you that. You don't deserve it after all that's happened to you. Besides," he laughed bitterly. "Who am I to decide who you love?"

I turned around quickly, eyes wide in shock. "What? I don't like Sephiroth like that! I told you that we both tripped on the wet floor in the bathroom." Tears leaked even more and I laughed bitterly at my weakness. "I'm pathetic. I'm too weak to continue on this way. I'm too naïve and I've got minimum experience with the real world. Now I'm crying because you called me a name that normally wouldn't affect most people! See? I'm a pathetic little girl who can't even hold herself together for more than a day!" I laughed and sobbed in shame and realization. I was nothing without my family. They were the ones that shaped me into the person I am now. Top of the class and talented, but the minute they are gone forever, it's like 'poof'. My support is gone. I have nothing to hold me up.

Genesis wrapped his arms around me and abruptly pulled my fragile form to his more, well built body. "Shhh. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. Everyone has a weakness of his or her own. Yours just came from your innocence and inexperience. If your old support wavers and collapses, you just have to find a new one every-single-time until you're able to stand up on your own. So you can lean on us. We'll be your new support until you don't need us anymore." He cupped my face with his left hand as he supported his body to lean on its side with his right. "So I'm sorry Maigen."

His eyes looked so sincere. I nodded, while wiping away the remaining tears. "Okay, Genesis. I forgive you."

He smirked and rose out of bed, dragging me with him. "Good. Now come along. You're a mess."

I yawned, "But I'm too tired."

Genesis didn't say anything. He just stopped and picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. "I'm going to brush your hair and make you look presentable."

I squirmed and huffed, "I didn't think you'd act so fussy about my appearance."

Genesis smiled quirkily, "No. I just think you look cute when you're flustered."

My face heated up, "N-no! F-flustered? What a-are you talking a-about?"

He tossed me back into his arms and I found myself face to face with the Commander. He just smirked, "See. You are cute when you're flustered."

I wanted to crawl in a hole, so I did the next best thing. I hide my face in his chest. I heard and felt him chuckle. The rumble in his chest and the 'thump thump' of his heart, I listened to them both as if enchanted. I was never this content with such a simple thing before. But as I think back, I couldn't but be reminded of Ace from Heart-no-kuni-no-Alice. I can understand why he loves to listen to the heart. I was trivial and simple. Everyone has it, but it can bring comfort and peace to whoever listens.

The sound of Genesis's heart began to gently cast a calm over me. I barely noticed when Genesis began to gently run the hairbrush through my hair.

"Can you see my heart?  
Because I won't let go again  
I'll return to my empty shell…"

I repeated the line that I knew so well. My idol. Gackt. Genesis was made in Gackt's image, but he was still his own person. I sighed as I felt Genesis carry me downstairs. I felt like a little baby. Unable to stand up on its own, so it has to be carried around by an adult so that it won't fall and burst into tears.

I turned my head to greet everyone when Zack clapped a gentle hand on my shoulder and grinned. "You okay?"

I nodded and smiled at every single person in the room. "I'm fine everyone. Thank you all so much."

After that whole thing was done, we all had dinner while we watched Bleach on the TV. We all took turns with the shower. No more than 10 minutes of shower time. When 10 o'clock came around the corner we bid each other a good night. School was tomorrow, so we needed to wake up early.

I lay in bed as Genesis crawled under the blanket and as Weiss entered the room while shutting the door. We all got comfy before Genesis shut the side lantern off. I snuggled into Genesis, "Goodnight Genesis. Goodnight Weiss."

"'Night, kid." Weiss replied softly.

"Sweet dreams, Maigen." Genesis whispered.

I closed my eyes and smiled. _Yes. I was indeed as child._

%^&*(&^%$##%^&*())&(^*%&$()&*(^*%&$&^&*(&^%&**()_*)&(^*%*&(*))_*&)^(%*^*&()*^&*((&^%^*$)^%)&*^&*%)&*^&*^)&*^)*&^)&*^)&*^)*&^)&*^)*&^)&*^)&^*)

**Bane comes running into the room screaming at the top of her lungs. "Yes I finally admit it!"**

**Zack pops out from behind a couch with a confused look. "Admit what?"**

**BANE: That I finally know who I really am!**

**Sephiroth: And that would be?**

**BANE: (*rises dramatically from her seat at the coffee table…) BANE is… (*dramatic drum roll… ) BANE is BANE!**

**Everyone: *animefall**

**Noctis: What about me?**

**Weiss: A false persona, pseudonym, alias, whatever you want to call it.**

**Everyone: (*stares)**

**Weiss: (*backs away…) What're you staring at?**

**Everyone: (*deadpans) You said something intelligent.**

**Weiss: (* -_-") Do you want me to kill you all?**

**Everyone: (*shakes head) No thank you!**

**BANE: Oh yeah! There's something I need to tell all you readers!**

**Readers: What?**

**BANE: I'm currently working on several stories and I want you all to tell me which one I should work on the most! These are the following stories that I've gotten far enough to even talk about!**

**This story (My Guilty Pleasures)**

**My Bleach Story (I get sent into Bleach, but lose all of my memories and get them replaced with a false past)**

**My Death Note Story (Rhapsody is at the top of her class, but she gets sucked into the Death Note world and becomes her own OC in her Death Note fanfic. How will she fair as Beyond Birthday's little sister and can she over power what was already set into stone?)**

**BANE: So please vote.**

**Weiss: They're not going to listen to a 5ft tall girl, squirt.**

**BANE: (*throws carrots at Weiss) And no one wants to listen to a big scary meany bear!**

**Weiss: You have until the count of three to run BANE… One…**

**BANE: Huh? What?**

**Weiss: Two…**

**BANE: Wait! Oh screw this… (*runs away) Run! Run Away!**

**Weiss: Three… You're dead BANE! (*Runs after her)**

**BANE: I'm sorry Saix! Demyx will be a good boy now! TT^TT**

**Weiss: This isn't Kingdom Hearts you idiot!**

**BANE: (*runs towards Reno) Help me Axel!**

'**Axel': Oh hell no! (*runs away from both BANE and a livid Weiss)**

**BANE: (*trips over a rock) Owww! Curse you rock!**

**Weiss: I've finally caught you! (*tackles BANE to the floor)**

**BANE: (*covers her face) Don't hurt me!**

**Weiss glares and abruptly sticks a carrot into BANE's mouth then gets up and leaves.**

**BANE: (*voice muffled) WHFT FHT FELL? (Translation: WHAT THE HELL?)**

**#$%^&*()&^%$^#%^&*()_*&^%&)%&()%&()%&()%&()%&()%&()%&()%&()%&()&()%#&(#&#&(#&#&)#&&#(&)#&(&(#&(#&()#&()&()#(&)#&()&#()&(**

**Yeah I really don't know what came over me… Review and vote!**


	17. Chapter XV: My English Teacher is Who?

**Presenting Chapter XV: My English Teacher is who?**

**#%^&*&*(&*^*%^)&_%^^$%^&(^()&)+*(^^$#$%#^*$^&(^&)(^&$%#$#^%*%^*^&&*^%%^$^*$%%&*)&*(_&(+&*(^%&$%(%^*%*^&(%&)*^&**

November 1, 2010

I reached for my alarm clock on the side table and picked it up. I glared at the time in complete irritation. It was 7:20am and I had to get to school in 30 minutes. I cursed while jumping out of bed, forgetting that there was an air mattress in the space below. I cursed as I fell to my right. I lay on the ground for a few seconds while staring at the ceiling in silence. Something was missing… I pretended to stroke an imaginary beard in thought and then it clicked. "**Where the hell is everyone?**"

I huffed when I heard footsteps behind and um above me. I stared backwards… "Good Morning Rude!" I cheered. "Where's everyone?"

Rude was dressed in his Turk uniform and had his sunglasses on. "They all left. You should hurry or you'll be late, Maigen."

I stared at the clock and cursed, "Aw man! This isn't funny!"

I ran to brush my teeth and change. I didn't care for my bed head, since I looked like an anime character like that anyway. I ran down the stairs and thanked Rude when he handed me my breakfast. I ate my cereal and drank all the milk before tossing the bowl into the sink and grabbed my lunch. I slipped on my Circa sneakers and dragged Rude out the door while grabbing the keys and locking the house. I noticed that the only car still there was Spencer's Honda Civic. I groaned while getting into the car. Seven minutes left until the first bell.

Needless to say, Rude got there in record time, which scored some respect from me.

I ran to my locker as soon as the car was parked, while Rude headed towards the main office.

I glanced at my watch and found that I was going to be late for class. I began to panic as I opened the locker and grabbed my English books. I locked my locker and sprinted off to the other side of the school.

I found myself thinking: _Who was going to be our new teacher? I don't see the others here._

I opened the door to English and stalked in. I scanned the room, surprised that the teacher wasn't here yet. I smiled when I saw my friend Adiana and set my belongings at my desk before kneeling down in front of her desk.

"Good morrow!" I exclaimed cheerfully.

"Good morning! Geez, it's so like you to quote Shakespeare!" Adiana greeted teasingly.

I laughed, "And it's so like you to tease me about it!"

"Touché!" she grinned.

I sighed, "It's good to be back after a month in the hospital."

Adiana leaned forward, "Yeah. What happened?"

I allowed my head to rest on my arms, "My family was killed. I was in a coma. Now I live with my godfather. Please don't ask anymore."

She nodded in understanding, "So who do you think will replace Mrs. Murt?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

Adiana smirked, "Funny. You know… That's the first time I've heard you say that you didn't know something."

I playfully narrowed my eyes and lightly smacked her arm while staring at the clock. I sighed, "Well, class will start soon. I'd better get to my seat."

Adiana smirked, "Alright. I can't wait to find out who our teacher will be. I mean no one can be as bad as Murt right?"

I nodded while walked back to my seat, exchanging a few hellos on the way. I sat down and took out my iPod. I slipped on the left earphone and closed my eyes while waiting for the new teacher to arrive.

I stared at the desk while keeping track of the time. Our teacher was late. 8 minutes late to be exact. I jumped when I heard Justin announce that a guy was coming towards the classroom with some other students. I rolled my eyes, _Yes, Justin. A GUY. How vague can you possibly get?_

I heard the door open, but didn't bother to turn my head to look. I could tell who he was by what he said next:

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess.

We seek it thus, and take to the sky.

Ripples form on the waters surface,

The wandering soul knows no rest."

"Can anyone tell me which play the line that just quoted came from?" a smug voice sounded, "If you can't, you are not worthy of being in an honors class."

I also felt smug. He had quoted LOVELESS as a test to see who was competent in the class. I smirked when everyone remained silent.

"Does anyone know the answer?" Genesis asked mockingly while stalking towards the front of the classroom.

I raised my hand with a smug grin, "I know the answer, **sir**." I emphasized the formality.

Genesis pointed at me and smirked, "Yes. The young lady with the earphones on."

I also smirked, "The lines you quoted belong in a play called LOVELESS. More specifically, the first act."

Genesis clapped, "Good job, Maigen. Now discard your iPod before I take it from you."

I quickly tucked the iPod and earphones into my right pocket. "Sorry."

Genesis picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name elegantly on the board. He turned around and I noticed that he was wearing a red dress shirt and black dress pants. I sighed at his obsession with the color red.

"My name is Mr. Rhapsodos. I will be your English teacher for the remainder of the year. Today, I'll spend the day getting to know you all. We also have some new students today. So I'll introduce them to you now."

The door opened and in stepped three very familiar men. I frowned at seeing them in my school uniform. It just didn't fit them. I mean three incredibly handsome guys in our school uniforms.

Genesis gestured to the three, "You three, introduce yourselves."

"What's up? I'm Zackary Fair! But you can call me Zack!" our favorite puppy exclaimed happily.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife." Said our usually emotionally constipated Chocobo.

"I'm Kadaj Angelus. Don't bother messing with-…" Our emotionally unstable silver haired remnant stopped mid-threat when he spot me and beamed while running up to me, "Sister!" He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug, "We're sorry that we left you out of the plan!"

I pat his back in awkward silence when I saw everyone staring at us. Zack threw a fit, "Aww come on Kadaj! That's no fair! You were the first one to greet her **and** blow our cover! Geez!"

Zack pouted so I held my arms out to Cloud and Zack, "Aww. Do my little heroes need a hug?"

Zack grinned and glomped me, while Cloud gave me a one armed hug.

"Yeah! Go Maigen! You're popular with the three new cute guys!" Adiana cheered.

Genesis cleared his throat, "Can you four wait until after class to do that?"

Zack grinned and opened his arm out to Genesis, "Oh come on! Mr. Rhapsodos, do you want to get in on the action too?"

"Zack!" I exclaimed in surprise.

Genesis shook his head, "I'd rather not Zack."

By this time, the three of them were squishing the life out of me, so I flailed my arms around. "Get them off me!"

All three flew off of me and I took a breath of air in relief. "I'm going to rearrange the seating order." Genesis claimed.

I ended up sitting in the same row… all the way in the front for some reason. Zack sat in back of me. Cloud to my back right, Adiana to my left, and Kadaj to my right. Everyone else… use your imagination.

Genesis had the first row, closest to the door, introduce themselves first, what their likes and dislikes were, their dreams, and their idol.

It was Kadaj's turn really soon. I gulped, hoping that he knew what he was going to say. "My name is Kadaj Angelus. I'm 15 years and I like fencing, my brothers and sister, and my mother. I don't like scientists and people mocking me. My dream is to one day become like my eldest brother and to have my siblings and I reunite with our mother. My idol is my eldest brother. That's all."

"Cloud. It's your turn." Cloud glanced around nervously when his name was called.

He stood up, but didn't say anything, just stayed silent. I coughed for his attention, which I got. Cloud turned in my direction, so I offered a supportive smile while mouthing, 'Do your best, Cloud'. Cloud grinned back at me and nodded. "My name is Cloud Strife. I'm also 15 years old. I like many things like running track and field, fencing, my family, and my friends. I dislike being made fun of because I'm quiet and have those that I care for taken away from me. My dream is to one day become a hero. My idol is Kadaj's brother and… Maigen. She's my idol because despite her losses, she can get around with a smile and a cheery mood. I respect that she doesn't have to hide anything." He sat down and turned a little red… so did I. Zack wolf whistled at us, causing Cloud to glared at him.

I was shocked because I really didn't think he would say my name. I wasn't special. It was just the way I lived. I sat dumbfounded and didn't realize that it was my turn until Zack poked the back of my head.

Snapping out of my daze, I stood up, knowing what I wanted to say. "Most of you all know me. I'm Maigen 'Noctis' Ng. I turned 14 a few months ago and I…" I paused for a minute to take a deep breath. "I no longer have living siblings or parents. They all died on my 14th birthday." I closed my eyes, "I like a lot of things. I like music, drawing, kendo, tennis, gambling, video games, the colors silver, green, red, black, blue, and white, anime, writing, and my friends. I dislike people who look down on me, snobs, my father's family with the exception of my grandparents and their relatives, and being alone. My dream is to become the woman that my parents and siblings would want me to become. My idol is a Japanese singer called Camui Gackt. He's a great man and he's kind to his fans."

I sat down with a downcast gaze that had quickly reverted back into a solid mask of indifference. Zack set a hand on my shoulder in comfort and Kadaj had taken my hand in his. Cloud smiled at me in a way that said, 'I'm glad that you finally opened up to all of us.' Adiana pat my shoulder. I beamed at them all, "Thanks you guys."

Zack let his hand linger a little longer before standing up himself. He grinned cheerfully, "Name's Zack Fair and I'm 15 years old, making me Maigen's senior by a year. I like puppies, my mentor, sparring, doing squats, going to the beach, my friends, and vacations. I dislike people who betray their loved ones, and people who aren't kind to others. That could mean a lot of things actually… Anyways, my dream is to become a hero! My idol would probably be my mentor Angeal. Eh… That's all I've got." After shrugging, he sat down.

After the rest of the class introduced themselves, but I didn't find that very important, so I won't write it down. I stared at my Rolex watch for the rest of class. It was funny how I got the watch in the first place. It used to belong to my grandfather on my father's side, who passed away about two years ago. My grandma gave it too me in remembrance of him. It's a very good watch but the only thing bad about it is that it winds up. The silver watch was loose on me, but at least it didn't fall off.

"Ok. We have about 20 minutes left of class, so I want to start us on our first lesson." Genesis announced opening his teacher's edition of the Literature textbook. "We'll be studying the Odyssey by Homer. Open your textbooks to that chapter and read the first section."

I glanced at Zack, Kadaj, and Cloud. Each of them had their own Literature textbook. Discarding my worry over sharing a book with three other people, I lazily opened the book to read. "_Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy…"_

Before I knew it, the bell had rung, signaling us to leave for our next class. I stood up from my desk and stretched before closing my textbook and packing my books. I glanced at Genesis who was staring at his schedule for the day in confusion.

Sighing, I snuck up behind him, stealing the schedule. "It's much simpler to ask the students Genesis."

Genesis crossed his arms, "You have to call me Mr. Rhapsodos, Maigen. We aren't at home and shouldn't you get to your next class? Zack, Kadaj, and Cloud have the same schedule as you, so you need to lead them to the next class."

I handed the schedule back to him, "Your next station happens to be right outside my next class. If you turn right from this classroom, you'll find a desk and chair in the hallway by the gym. You're on hall monitor duty for Period 2."

Genesis nodded his thanks as I snatched Kadaj's hand and dragged him with me. "Oh and Maigen?" I turned to face Genesis, who smirked. "Zack, Kadaj, and Cloud share your locker with you. The others have their own."

I cursed, "You decide to tell me now?" Genesis shrugged and shooed us off.

**$^*&%^($^&^%)*&%^&^_(*^_(&^_(*&^_(&^_*(&_(*&*&%&%^$*&)^_(*&^%&_*&_(*&_*&()*^_(*^(^%)*^%)*&%)^$(&$(^&#(%^#%#&$$#^&($%(**

**Bane: I'm sad.**

**Reno: Why?**

**Bane: Because my mother told me that my dream to meet Gackt in person will never ever happen and that it's unrealistic.**

**Zack: But wait! Genesis was made from Gackt so it's like you met him already!**

**Genesis: I am nothing like that man!**

**Zack: Yes you are! Gackt clone!**

**Bane: (*sits in the corner and wails) I WANT TO MEET THE REAL GACKT! GENESIS IS GENESIS! HE IS DEFINTELY NOT GACKT-KUN!**

**(*falls asleep)**

**3hrs later**

**(*wakes up)**

**Bane: I'm insane.**

**Genesis: (*closes ****LOVELESS****) So glad you finally noticed.**

**Rufus: What made you realize that just now?**

**Bane: I starting crying after listening to Stairway to Heaven…**

**Genesis: (*sweatdrops) Why would you do that?**

**Bane: I don't know. I think it's because the song is about finding the meaning of life. It's something that I've yet to obtain, so maybe I long for it. Yet by hearing the song, I know that it is no easy feat. I'll suffer along the way until I find true happiness. Then I am reminded of the countless people who died on that journey, but they never found their happiness…**

**Everyone: (*depressing sadness)**

**Bane: That. Or the song was too long.**

**Zack: (*wipes tear and sniffles) Beautiful.**

**Everyone: (*sweatdrops)**

**Vincent: That doesn't make you insane. It makes you human.**

**Bane: (*nods head) If that makes me human, then liking explosions and thinking that all of you are extremely hot must make me insane.**

**Weiss: What did you just say?**

**Bane: (*freezes) I SAID NOTHING!**

**Weiss: No you said that you thought we were all hot.**

**Bane: (*grabs a bar of chocolate and consumes it)**

**Tseng: (*tries to take the chocolate out of her hands) No! If she eats that chocolate, we're all dead!**

**Reno: (*just keeps feeding Bane more) I wanna see what happens, yo!**

**Bane: (*starts jumping) OMG! I JUST FELT LIKE SINGING ALL OF A SUDDEN!**

**Angeal: (*headdesks himself) We're doomed.**

**Bane: DOOMED!**

**Angeal: Stop copying me!**

**Bane: ME!**

**Sephiroth: (*walks by with coffee) No echoing either, Bane.**

**Bane: COFFEE! (*grabs the coffee, chugs it and runs)**

**Cloud: Catch her!**

**Bane: ahem! (*opens mouth to sing, but accidentally swallows a bug.) coughs Ack! ^%^! #$% %&^^ *%$&(^ *^%* * %*( (^ % ^(*#$!**

**Kadaj: Watch your mouth little sister!**

**Bane: SCREW YOU! (*runs away again to climb up on the table)**

**Yazoo: Bane. Get down.**

**Bane: (*shushes him) Ahem! **

**Romeo, O Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?**

**Deny thy father and refuse thy name;**

**Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,**

**And I'll no longer be a Capulet.**

**(*jumps down from table, in front of Loz. Then starts hugging him)**

'**Tis but thy name that is my enemy;**

**Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.**

**What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,**

**Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part**

**Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!**

**(*hugs Sephiroth from behind)**

**What's in a name? That which we call a rose**

**By any other name would smell as sweet;**

**So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,**

**Retain that dear perfection which he owes**

**Without that title.-**

**(*takes Genesis's hand and pulls him up)**

**- Romeo, doff thy name,**

**And for that name which is no part of thee**

**(*places a hand to caress Genesis's right cheek)**

**Take all myself.**

**(*falls backwards onto Rude's lap and giggles from the rush of the sugar)**

**I feel all funny inside!**

**Loz: (*blushes in shock)**

**Sephiroth: … (*he's in shock that a 14 year old could… seduce three grown men.)**

**Genesis: (*his right hand lightly touches the spot where Bane caressed his cheek) D-did you just seduce us?**

**Bane: (*looks at him in confusion) Did it look like that? I'm sorry but I was only rehearsing something that I wanted to do for a future play in the story.**

**Genesis: (*frowns) We're doing ****Romeo and Juliet****?**

**Bane: (*scoffs) Nope something much better.**

**(*Bane walks away while singing****)**

**Weiss: (*whispers to Genesis) I think she's finally lost it.**

**Genesis: (*whispers back) I think she lost it years ago.**

**(*both get hit by tennis balls.)**

**Bane: I HEARD YOU BOTH!**

**%^*^(*_^_&*%(^&$(&^%$)^%$_&^%_(*^)*&^)*&%)*&%)*&%)*&%)*&%)*&%^&%()&*%&*%)*&%_&%)*&%(*^&$%&(^$(&^$^*&(%)*&%)*&%)*&**


	18. Chapter XVI: SOLDIER Training!

******Chapter XVI: SOLDIER Training!**

**%$^%*&*&%_&%&(^$&%^$)^%)&*%^$*^%#^&%$#%$(^%)^_*^*&+&*%&^%$&$#%($&^_*(^+&_(*&^%&^$%^&$#$&%#(&%$)*^&%_*(&^+()&(**

Walking down the hallway full of staring gits, I groaned out loud, "You guys are awesome, but you're making my life kind of difficult."

Kadaj pouted, "You don't hate us, do you little sister?"

I stared behind me, while walking to my locker. All three of them had pouts on their faces with puppy eyes. I froze. _Must. Resist. Cuteness. Don't. Get. Distracted._ As soon as we reached the locker, their pouts increased tenfold. I tried to resist as I took their books and jammed them into the locker while getting my Latin and Algebra books.

Before I could get more than 2 feet, all three of them appeared in front of me. I averted my eyes to the floor, but they followed. I stared at all three of them, then did something I promised that I'd never do, I glomped the three of them.

"Oh! I could never hate you guys!" I stated in a very affectionate tone.

The bell rang then, causing my eyes to widen in terror, "We're late! Hurry! We have to change in the lockers!" I pushed them back towards the gym and into the boys' locker, while I went to change in the girls'.

I calmly strolled out of the locker room, silently singing to the Phantom of the Opera.

I made sure that my voice had raised enough for it to seem like I was actually Erik, while he sang his part. My elocution was perfect, leaving everyone in the gym staring at me. I grinned at them all, "What? This isn't the first time I've decided to sing in this class!"

The staring stopped as I ran to sit in my spot… until I got glomped from behind. "You took too long, Maigen."

I glared behind me and once again flipped the person off my back, "Stop sneaking up on me, Zack!"

He seemed to wither away from my glare as he lay on the floor of the gym. "Sorry Maigen. I won't do it agai-…" he was cut off from his sentence.

"Oi! Get your butts over here you two!" a gruff voice called to us.

I helped Zack up off the floor, but took the time to glare at Weiss, too. In my school, we shared gym periods with the other grades. I breathed in and out when I realized that Weiss, Nero, Loz, Yazoo, and Reno all had the same gym period as Zack, Cloud, Kadaj, and I.

I dragged Zack over to our little group on the boys' side of the gym. "I guess Rufus made you go to school anyways, eh, Weiss?"

"Just shut up, Maigen." He snapped.

I pouted and faked a hurt expression, "That really hurts Weiss. And here I thought that we were beginning to become friends." I latched myself on Nero, "See? Nero loves me more than you!"

Nero tensed and began to whisper in my ear, "I'm not moving because we're pretending to be your cousins. Though I must say. You have a very complicated bloodline, Maigen. There are traces of Scottish, German, British, and French blood with your Japanese and Chinese blood. Bringing that up, we were able to convince everyone that we are family."

I let go of him in sadness, "So you don't really love me?" I pretended to wipe a tear away, "I see how it is… Maybe Seph loves me! I mean, he doesn't push me away and he did save me from falling in the bathroom."

Reno scoffed, "Yeah right! That mother loving Messiah complex of his nearly killed me!"

I glared at him, "Sephiroth will not turn out to be the messiah-mommy complex man that you knew!"

Reno got into my face, "As long as JENOVA exists, he will turn into that monster!"

"You won't get rid of mother!" Kadaj yelled out in anger.

"I never said I was!" Reno yelled back. He faced me to yell again, but his eyes widened and he stepped back.

I was livid. In anger, I didn't even notice that Reno was backing away. "Don't insult him! He'll be fine when you go back! Burn the documents in Nibelheim and drop the Calamity's body into mako! Heck! Burn it if you have to! I won't have anyone dying this time around! Wait… you come from before Dirge… aww! So my plan won't work. And what are you staring at?"

I saw Reno pointing behind me, so I turned around to get a face full of chest… solid… rock-hard chest… from a sexy silver haired man… I stared up at Sephiroth in horror and embarrassment…

He chuckled, "I didn't know you missed me that much. Maigen."

I squeaked and walked backwards so that I wasn't that close to his chest. "What are you doing here?"

Sephiroth held up a clipboard, "Your previous teacher took leave for the rest of the year to help take care of his newborn daughter. I'm your replacement teacher."

I actually got excited. "That's awesome! Wait. What do I call you?"

Sephiroth motioned for me to get into my spot on the girls side of the gym, "If you hurry, I'll tell the whole class."

I nodded and ran to my spot on the giant '4' taped to the ground. Sephiroth had lined the boys up in a way that I guess he had SOLDIERs line up. I stood straight with my arms at my side and in attention, which got me some weird looks from the girls in my class. I glared at all of them; "The teacher's positioning all the guys like this, so get your assets into gear!"

Ravina… I think that's how you spell her name… And I think that's her name… began to whine like a spoiled brat, "But I don't want to do anything!" and kept texting on her cell. My left eye twitched when the only ones who moved where the upperclassmen and some of my acquaintances… who I deem too unrelated to this story to talk about! I stomped on my foot and silently fumed.

"All 9th grade girls stand up!" Sephiroth was at our section by now and he had his arms crossed, "What do we have here? Insubordination?" He slowly stalked forward to stand in front of the 15 or so 9th grade girls… me included. "A few of you listened. That's good, but the rest of you won't do. When I tell you to do something you do it!"

"But I don't feel like moving around, Mr. Sub!" Ravina shouted out with most of the 9th grade girls agreeing with her.

Sephiroth's eyebrow rose as he stood in front of her, "Excuse me?" He snatched away the phone from her in a blink of an eye. "Mr. Jay, I believe there is a policy where all electronics are to be left in the locker, otherwise it will get taken away. Am I correct?

Mr. Jay stood up, "That's right."

Sephiroth tossed Ravina's phone to Mr. Jay, who pocketed the phone. "You will have to pick your cell phone up from the main office with you parents, Miss. Narvaco." He shook his head when he observed the class, "And half of you aren't even changed. Regardless. You will all still have to participate in today's activities. Now I want all of you to stand up in the same position as the rest of the class!"

I knew that in the army, a soldier was supposed to salute the general and yell 'Sir, yes, sir!' I pulled my feet together and mock saluted, "Sir, yes, sir!"

After a few seconds, the rest of the 9th grade girls went into position and did the same as me. Sephiroth smirked in satisfaction, "You may all call me Mr. Angelus. I am replacing your old teacher since he has other priorities to take care of. My job is to get your ass into shape! Any question?"

A hand rose up from Ravina, I sighed. Here we go with the stupid questions… "Why do you talk like that?"

"I used to be a General." Sephiroth replied.

"How could you, with that ridiculously long hair? And it's silver. No one has silver hair!" a random boy yelled out.

I huffed, "What is this? Insulting 200 questions class? I came here to burn calories! So quit wasting our time with your stupid questions and let's split into the activity groups already!"

No one protested. We had the option of Volleyball, Basketball, Weight room, or Sephiroth, which equaled 'OTHER'

I went with Sephiroth. I found that Zack and the others had joined me too. Some of the girls had followed the guys… I shook my head, "Fangirls…"

Sephiroth led us out to the football field and had us stand in a straight line. "I'm telling you all right now. If you can't withstand physical training, leave now. I will not be sending any of you to the nurse if you faint." The girls left, leaving the gang and me… with Sephiroth. He smirked, "Your world's full of weaklings, Maigen. They don't even want to improve themselves."

I pouted, "I'm here, and I'm from this world, so does that make me a weakling? Oh and by the way. Not all of us are like that!"

Sephiroth smirked, "We shall see." He turned his back to us. "Since we're going to be in this world for a while, I believe we should train to make sure we do not grow out of shape." He turned back towards us, "So from now on, this class shall be called 'SOLDIER training'"

We all saluted, "Sir, yes, sir!"

Sephiroth nodded, "First, we'll have you run for 6 laps around the football field. Not jogging, not walking, not sprinting. Running. Ready? Go!"

I took off by jumping over the fence and onto the track. I settled into a mild run to gather my senses and to warm up my body. I opened my eyes to tie my hair up before taking off to catch up with the others, who had no trouble passing me two minutes ago. I tried to regulate my breathing, but after the 3rd lap, I was out of breath and ready to pass out. It was funny how not moving for a month can deteriorate your physical condition. A few months ago, I could run about 8 laps until I could pass out. I shook my head and started singing a song in my mind.

My eyes flashed dangerously as my pace increased. I can't humiliate myself right now. Not in front of the people that I look up to, even if they're from my fantasies. They are here now, so I couldn't look weak in their eyes. Where was the girl who killed her family's murderers on her 14th birthday? Where was the girl that could hold her own against several people at the same time? She didn't vanish all of a sudden. She was always me, so I've got to get my ass into gear.

I did the last three laps in time with the others and didn't make a sound as I focused on my breathing. I started seeing black spots in the last lap, so I pushed harder so that I didn't fall while running. I groaned as more black spots covered my vision and against my will, I lay on the grass. Sweating and breathing hard, I covered my head from the sun with my arms. I lay like a rock, since every now and then, someone would nudge me to get up.

"That's all for today. You may have the rest of the period to recover from the run." Sephiroth announced… probably seeing how I wouldn't get up, despite his nudging.

I felt footsteps run over to me and I stared at Cloud who was also panting badly, "Do you… mind… if I… join you?" he asked.

I groaned as the sun hit my face, covering it and nodding to Cloud. I peeked out a bit and after a few seconds, Cloud plopped down on the ground next to me. "Not used to it?" I asked.

Cloud nodded, "You?"

"Out of shape." I announced. "I used to be able to run 8 laps before collapsing like this. And then… I was sent to the hospital in a coma." I randomly kicked the air above me, "Urgh! I hate hospitals sooooo much! They wouldn't let me leave when I woke up from my coma. I had to have them chase me into the bathroom so that I could lock them in! After that, then! Then I could go home! They even had a tranquilizer ready for me!"

"Wow… Even Hojo didn't do that." Zack interjected, lying down with Cloud and I.

I glared playfully, "Who said you could join?"

Zack put his hand over his heart, "You wound me, Maigen."

I rolled my eyes. "But that's interesting to hear. Hojo probably doesn't want to waste his time with 'petty mundane nonsense" I mimicked in a nasally voice.

Zack laughed, "That's pretty good impression you have there!"

I grinned, "I know. My little brother and I could mimic almost anyone! We were going to become voice actors when we grew up, but I guess that'll never happen now."

Zack and Cloud gently pat my arms, "It's okay Maigen. You just have to live a life where you'll make your family proud." Cloud supplied.

I nodded before doing a jackknife, "Thanks you guys. We should hurry back inside to change."

I walked up to Sephiroth, "Should we go back inside?"

Sephiroth took out a black cell phone and checked the time, "Yes. We have about 10 minutes left, so lets go." He turned to the rest of the gang, "All of you sprint back to the gym!"

I didn't need to be told twice as I took off in a flash with everyone chasing after me. When we reached the gym I nodded to the guys and headed towards the girls' locker room.

I silently hoped that none of the girls would ask questions. When I walked into the locker room, all girls turned their head towards me. _Whoops. I jinxed it._ I quickly took my shoes off and shed my shirt before getting bombarded with questions.

I can't remember any of their names, so I'm going to start making up names now!

"Do you know the new students, Maigen?" asked Caterina.

I shed my shorts, "Yeah."

"Who's the hottie with the spiky black hair?" asked Ravina.

I dried my sweat with a towel, "Figure it out yourself."

"Is he your boyfriend?" …Samantha questioned, close to my face.

I backed into a locker, not liking how close they all were. "W-what?"

"Oh so he is your boyfriend! Then who are the others?" Jemina asked.

I slipped on my school uniform and began to sling my book bag over my shoulder, "None of your business."

The bell rang as I slipped out of the horror room, leaving the room buzzing with unanswered questions. Some were of the same subject.

I pulled my hair when I saw Weiss, Nero, Loz, Yazoo, Reno, Kadaj, Zack, and Cloud outside in the hallway waiting for me. "You know how many questions I got in there?" All of them shook their head. "Well it went like this… 'Maigen, can you ask this person out for me?' or 'Are you dating any of them?' Urgh!" I threw my hands up in exasperation, "I mean, come on! They just have to leave me the hell alone!"

We got a lot of looks in the hallways as people passed us by. Most of them were girls that were oogling at the guys. I glared at all the girls that were going to go up to talk with them.

I grumbled, "Anyways, what's your schedule for the day?"

"English, Gym, Band, Latin, Creative Writing, Pre-Cal, Lunch, SAT Prep, Orchestra, and Business Law 1" Weiss announced for Nero, Loz, and himself.

"English, Gym, Band, Latin, Algebra 2, Lunch, US History 2, Orchestra, and Physics." Yazoo recited.

"English, Gym, Band, Latin, Geometry, Lunch, US History 1, Orchestra, and Chemistry." Reno said in a bored tone.

"Well… we've got English, Gym, Band, Latin, Algebra 1, Lunch, World History Honors, Orchestra, and Biology." I put in. "That means, for the next two periods, we have the same class then Lunch and Orchestra." I frowned, "You guys do know how to do things like math and stuff, right?"

Weiss snorted, "Did you think that we were uneducated?"

I changed the subject, "Nero mentioned that some of you guys were posing as my relatives. Mind telling me who?"

"Weiss and I are you 8th cousins on your mother's side of the family." Nero supplied. I knew they were going to stay together. "We go by Weiss and Nero Schiffer."

I rose and eyebrow, "Did you happen to get that from my laptop?"

Weiss grinned, "Yup. You've got a lot of pictures of the Ulquiorra guy in your picture folder. You've also got quite a number of pictures of us, too."

I mentally beat myself for not putting a password on my Mac book Pro. I turned to Kadaj's gang, "What about you guys?"

Yazoo glared at me, "Unfortunately, we're your 6th cousins on your mother's side along with Sephiroth. We'll be the Angelus brothers. I don't see why we have to pose as your cousins. It's humiliating."

Kadaj punched Yazoo hard, "Don't you start on little sister too! Mother would want a daughter too! So you shouldn't be mean to her!"

Yazoo rubbed his arm and flipped his hair, "I still don't like her. But I guess her mixed ethnicity helps our cause. So at least she's useful."

I tried to not show how much it hurt me. I didn't like not being liked. I just couldn't stand it if someone I looked up to didn't like me, at least, not after my pre-school years. I had no friends back then. I was always picked on. The only people there for me were the teachers. That's why I try to stick to people who are older than me. I felt safer with adults than people my age. That's just the way I am.

I turned to Reno, "What about you?"

Reno scratched the back of his head, "I'm your 7th cousin on your mom's side, yo. I'm going by Reno Lea Destler." He turned his head to the side, "This is awkward…"

I stared at Zack and Cloud, "What about you guys?"

They just shook their heads, "We could've, but it would've been strange if all the new students were related to you."

I nodded my head in understanding, "Anyways, let's get to our next class, before the bell beats us."

_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!_

I frowned running down the empty hall with the others trailing behind me, "I spoke too soon!"

**%%_&^_*^&(*%%&^%^#(%&^$)&*^_(*^*&$^*%*^%$&^%_(^_(*^)*&$&^(#^*%!(&%$)*&%_(*^_(*^*&$%^#$%#%&%^$)*%_(&^_(*^_(*^_&**

**Bane: (*sitting at the dining table while groaning loudly) My whole body hurts!**

**Reno: (*pops his head into the dining room) From your endurance training?**

**Bane: That and kendo… I can't even feel my arm!**

**Genesis: You're exaggerating again.**

**Zack: (*staggers in) I don't know… she doesn't seem to be acting.**

**Bane: (*snaps) Of course I'm not acting! I feel like every part of my body's on fire!**

**Zack: (*backs away with his hands in a peaceful gesture) Sorry, sorry…**

**Bane: (*starts jumping around and singing)**

**Angeal: Maigen, not that I'm saying you're crazy, but why are you singing?**

**Bane: What day is it?**

**Angeal: (*looks at the calendar) It's July 4?**

**Bane: Exactly.**

**Weiss: We don't know this world's customs.**

**Bane: It's an American custom and today happens to be a very special day.**

**Genesis: Well what's so important about today?**

**Bane: Today is the day that America won its freedom from the rule of Great Britain!**

**Sephiroth: Is there anything else?**

**Bane: Yup! Today just happens to be my idol's birthday!**

**Genesis: Your idol would be?**

**Bane: Gackt!**

**Rufus: How old does he turn today?**

**Bane: 38!**

**Genesis: (*glowers) You idolize a 38 year old?**

**Bane: You got a problem with that? :X**

**Genesis: (*grumbles and walks away)**

**Nero: (*turns to readers) I could be wrong, but I believe that we're witnessing the beginnings of love.**

**Bane: (*throws a tennis ball at Nero's back) Don't quote from Ouran High School Host Club! And this isn't love!**

**Reno: If him getting jealous over your idol doesn't convince you, I'm not sure what will.**

**Bane: Urgh! For the last time! This isn't love!**

**Reno: Oh yeah, Maigen?**

**Bane: (*smacks him behind his head) You will refer to me by my author name.**

**Reno: But you're still Maigen, right?**

**Bane: (*rubs temples) Yeah, yeah.**

**Zack: (*drags Bane to a random room) Good. Now make up.**

**Bane: (*kicks Zack in the shins then runs to hide behind Vincent) You're not making me do anything that I don't want to!**

**Angeal: He's going to sulk if you don't go right now. He's never actually known his real birth date. So to say that you're celebrating the birthday of someone he dislikes, he'd naturally get upset.**

**Bane: So he's never had a real birthday?**

**Angeal: Never.**

**Bane: (*walks into the room and closes it) Genesis?**

**No answer…**

**Bane: (*walks up behind him and kneels, putting her head on his back) I'm sorry.**

**No answer…**

**Bane: (*thinking: **_**What am I supposed to do now? **_**... **_**Oh! I know.**_** *hugs Genesis from behind) Happy Birthday Genesis. What do you want for a present?**

**Genesis: (*turns around and smirks while snaking an arm around her to get her closer) You.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Dream…**

**Bane: (*sits upright in bed) OMG That was the weirdest dream ever.**

**Genesis: (*barges into room) Are you alright, Maigen? You finally woke up after your brother's training.**

**Bane: (*shakes head) It's nothing. I'm fine. (Exit Genesis) I have got to stop having coffee…**

**%^_*(^&*)%(^&$%#(&%$^%&(^_(*&^*)&%^&($^%$#%($)^*%_&(^+*&(*^&%^$$%#$^%$^^_*(&_&+)(&*&%^$%#$$%*%%)&^)&^_(*^**

**Note: 200 questions instead of 21 because there are more than 200 people in the school. Therefore, Maigen's keeping track of all the questions asked in the day… and so far, it's about 37… lol I would guess that would be the number.**

**Note again: I don't know how to spell oogling…**

******Thank you to the following for reviewing:**

**Twilight-yuna17**

**Bibliotaku748**

**LoreilDarksky00**

**Ty-Lea Rose Yuko**

**Fushia Flame**


	19. Chapter XVII: Problems and Promises!

******Disclaimer for this chapter! I do not own the celebrity in this chapter! He is just my idol! I love in an idol-like way!**

**I present to you: Chapter XVII: Problems and Promises!**

**#$#*$(^&%)&*%(&^$*%^#&$%#(^&%)*&%)*&%*^#%^$$%#*%^$^&%(&^%*^#$%&#*^%#(&^%$(&^%)*&%&^#$%#$!$%#*%^&$*&^(*&%&^&$^%#&%$#*^%$(&^%(&^%(^&%(&^%)*&%&*^$%#$%%^*#*^%$**

It wasn't a matter of getting to class in time it was the fact that Mrs. B will have a cow if we're late. Another fact to add is that it isn't really a nice first opinion for new students to be late. Also, we were getting some pretty weird looks from the passing classrooms. I wouldn't blame them. A short Asian freshman running down the halls at light speed with super good-looking guys with weird colored hair following her… I'd stare too.

I threw the stairway doors open and sped up the stairs. "We're late, we're late, we're late!"

"We know that, Maigen!" cried an annoyed Weiss.

I turned my head and stuck my tongue out at him, "Well, you seemed a little thick headed, so I was doing you a fa-…" I collided with the other door and fell. "Hehe… Why is Church chasing Tucker with an Energy Sword?"

I didn't have time to think as Zack hauled me up from my ass, "Let's go Maigen. We can't be more late than we already are."

I giggled, "That was so weird!"

I felt Zack shake his head, "Of course. You ran into a wall!"

I led Zack and the others to the Band room and opened the door, "I'm on fire baby!"

Everyone in the room stared at me, "Are you high?"

I hopped onto Loz's back in a piggyback ride. "Nope! I'm just happy!" Tom, Justin, and some others gawked at us. I raised an eyebrow, "What are you staring at?"

Tom pointed, "Are those Final Fantasy VII characters behind you?"

I inwardly cursed. I forgot that because of my anime and video game obsession, people that actually listen to what I say, would know a Final Fantasy VII character when they see one. "N-no. These are my friends and cousins. That's Weiss, Nero, Loz, Yazoo, Reno, Kadaj, Cloud, and Zack."

"Maigen. You called some of them the names from the video game." Justin deadpanned.

I glared at them, "These **are** their real names, nimrod."

A glaring match took place between us until I hopped off of Loz and poked Justin in forehead, like Itachi does to Sasuke, from Naruto. He stood there, startled. I grinned and ran into Mrs. B's office. "Mrs. B! The new students are here!"

She glanced up at me, "Okay. Thanks." She stood up from here desk and walked out into the Band room itself. "Everyone. We won't be playing today. Instead, we shall be taking the time to get to know the new students. Okay, you guys have the floor." She sat in her ultra comfy spiny chair and watched everything unfold.

Weiss took the floor with Nero. "I'm Weiss Schiffer and this is Nero, my little brother." Nero didn't say a thing, only nodded. "We're Maigen's 8th cousins and our father is Japanese/German while our mother was German. We're both seniors. Don't get on my nerves and we'll get along just fine. You want to say anything else, Nero?" he shook his head to Weiss. Weiss shrugged, "That's it." They both took a seat on the right side of the room, where I was sitting.

Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj took the spotlight after them.

"I'm Loz Angelus."

"I'm Yazoo Angelus."

"And I'm Kadaj Angelus."

Kadaj did all the talking from then on out. "Loz is a senior, Yazoo's a junior, and I'm a freshman. We also have an older brother that teaches gym for freshmen. We're Maigen's 6th cousins, but I consider that close enough to call her our little sister. Yazoo here hates her, but Loz and I love her a lot. Seph might like her too, but I don't think I'll ever be able to read him. We're done."

All three of them took seats right behind me. I kept a straight face as the girls in the class swooned over all of them. I shook my head in disgust. I watched as the Chorus girls entered the classroom to stare at the new guys. I sighed. How predicable.

I saw Reno walk proudly to the middle of the classroom. "I'm Reno Lea Destler. I'm a sophomore and I'm Maigen's 7th cousin. So that means I'm related to the Schiffer duo and the Angelus brothers over there." I scratched the back of my head the girls to the right of me sighed. "I think I'm done!" I blinked as he sat to the immediate left of me.

"That was fast Reno." I commented. "You sure grabbed the attention of a lot of ladies here."

Reno shrugged, "I'm going to go back to my world sooner or later, so why should I care?"

I nodded, "Good point."

Zack ran to take the stage and stood tall and proud. "I'm Zack Fair! I'm a close friend of Maigen's since we were toddlers. I'm a freshman and I live with Maigen since my parents are away overseas. If you don't hurt the people I care about, we'll get along just fine. I'm done!" He took a seat to the right of me, but still away from the hormone unstable girls.

I kicked him in the shin; "You left Cloud up there to fend for himself."

Zack smiled sheepishly, "I uh, forgot about him. Sorry."

I glowered, "Some friend you are."

I saw Cloud at the front of the classroom, looking nervous. I stood up and walked over to him, gently taking his right hand in my left. He glanced at me in embarrassment. I laughed, "Don't worry Cloud. I'll introduce you myself! So don't get so flustered."

Cloud stared at his feet, "Thanks for being here for me, Maigen."

I shook my head, "It's no problem, Cloud." I turned to the class, still holding Cloud's hand in mine. "Everyone, this is one of my best friends Cloud Strife. He's a year older than me and he's a softie. Go easy on him or I'll kill you. I've known him and Zack ever since I could remember. They're my best friends, and I'm who I am today because of them."

We both took a seat and were about to begin a conversation, when the horde of new fangirls attacked us with questions. My head pounded. There was really no place in this school where we weren't left alone.

Kirsten was at the front of the horde. I avoided her ever since she said that she liked my friends Andrew and thought that he was a 'sweetheart'. Then she worsened it by saying that Brittany Spears was better looking than Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox (I don't like her. She has almost the same name as me and she tarnishes it by being a bitch, but even a girl like me has to admit that her body is to die for.), and Ashley Greene. I think there's something wrong with that girls head.

She has bad taste in men, and she's not one to act. All talk, you know? Anyway, she's in my face right now, "Maigen, why didn't you tell me you knew all these hotties?" she whispered.

I shrugged, "It never came up."

Kirsten glared at me, "You've got to get one of them to date me."

I glared back, "I've got four syllables for you, lady. No way in hell."

Kirsten kept insisting, "Come on. Aren't I your friend?"

I stood up from my seat in disgust. I mean sure, she wasn't the most appealing person, and I pity her, but she's taking advantage of my kindness. She didn't' believe me when I told her that Andrew didn't like her in the boyfriend/girlfriend way. But noooo! She insists that he has his eye on her. So I'm going to insist that I won't let her date one of my new family members. I jabbed a finger at her, "Don't you dare play that card with me, Kirsten! Don't take advantage of my friendship!"

"But Maigen!" she protested.

I held up a hand, "This is the end of it Kirsten! Besides, what about Andrew?"

Everyone stared at our little argument and I saw her back away. I felt no guilt. Anyone who would dare take advantage of my good graces will suffer the consequences under my hand. I have been taken advantage of before and one time left me in an isolated state while the other time left me one big brother short and years in therapy with DYFS bothering our family left and right. It took four years just to close the case and it cost my family thousands. I never saw my brother Justin again. I can never let anything like that again. The months after my first therapy session were what changed me. I began to seclude myself with my stuffed animals and plushies. I blocked out the world except for school and emerged myself in my studies and music. Little by little, my eyes were opened up to the world.

_I was sitting in the passenger seat of our Acura as we drove down the streets of New York. We were happily singing to random songs from my iPod. We were having a fun time until this guy walks across the street with a cell phone to his ear, not looking both ways, while it was a green light for the cars. My mom stepped on the brakes in time so that the car stopped with a screech and about three inches away from the guy. The man looks at us and flips my mom the finger. Angered, she rolls down the window and calls him a whole bunch of bad names that my innocent 9 year old ears were not supposed to hear yet. I think the whole string of curses that followed that would have made Cid proud._

_My dad, who was sitting in the seat behind me scolded my mother, "You should really watch your mouth."_

"_He was walking when he wasn't supposed to." My mother replied._

"_Maigen, do you think that mommy should have yelled at that man?" asked my father._

_I had clocked my head to the side, "That man stuck his middle finger at mommy, so he should've been run over!" I exclaimed._

_My mother and father sent me a scolding look. "Maigen, you know better than that! You can't run over people in the street!"_

_I pointed behind me at Spencer who was staring out the window bored. "But big brother runs them over in Grand Theft Auto!"_

"_That's a video game, Maigen." Spencer had replied evenly. "If you do that in real life, you'll get arrested."_

_I nodded my head in understanding. "Ohhh! But I think that mommy can yell at that stupid man."_

_My father furrowed his brow, "Why do you think that?"_

_I fiddled with the Sephiroth and Genesis plushies on my lap. "Sephiroth and Geny thinks that too!"_

_My father chuckled, "Okay. Then why do Sephiroth, Genesis, and you believe that mommy should yell at the 'stupid man'?"_

_I lifted the Sephiroth plushie up, "Sephiroth thinks that mommy should curse at that man all she wants because he wasn't nice to mommy for sparing his life. Sephy said that mommy could have easily ran him over, but mommy is a good person, that's why she didn't do it." I then lifted Genesis up, "Geny thinks that I shouldn't be apart of this conversation so I'm going to take a nap."_

_With that, I curled up in my seat with the plushies and fell asleep._

I believe that was when my parents started becoming weary of my mental state. About a year later, their suspicions arose to the point of sending me to therapy for once every week. DYFS came about once a month, unannounced. They were always ruining our dinners for some reason. It continued like that. I would seek comfort within my own mind, my books, and my plushies. I acted fairly normal except for the fact that I was overly cautious of others now. If I felt that a person was going to take advantage of me, I'd break my ties with them right away.

Shaking my head out of the flashback I stared at my feet, clenching and unclenching my fists. I glared at anyone that was still staring at me, "**What the hell are you staring at?**" Everyone looked away from me. The bell rang and I stood up, grabbing onto the first arm that I could find; which was Reno.

Reno glanced down at me, "You okay? You look like you're going to smack someone if they touch you."

I nodded my head, "The next class is this way." I led Reno out of the classroom and heard him call to the others to follow me.

Reno glanced at me in worry, "Maigen, tell me what's wrong. You'll feel better if you talk about it. Well, it works for me anyway."

I shook my head, "It's all in the past."

Yazoo scoffed from behind us, "If it's in the past, then why are you so upset about it?"

I stayed silent. If I told them, would I be revealing too much? Would they treat me any different? I sighed, "I hate being taken advantage of. I've been taken advantage of a lot when I was younger. These cases landed me into years of therapy."

Zack frowned, "So you have bad experiences with people who try to take advantage of you, that doesn't mean that you had to treat your friend like that."

I stopped in the middle of the hallway, causing a few cries of protest from surrounding students. "She was taking advantage of Maigen's friendship to steal what Maigen possesses. That is how Maigen has always seen things. A person can't become Maigen's friend until Maigen believes that they won't take advantage of her. Kirsten was no exception. The only friends Maigen has are you guys, Adiana, Vanessa, Crystal, Diane, Shelly, Daisy, Danyang, and the tennis team. Maigen has had one friend before named Euden. He moved and made Maigen sad. She cried after that. She felt betrayed because one of her 3 friends had left her to survive on her own. Euden never took advantage of Maigen. Euden was similar to Maigen. Both were strange to others, so they became friends. Maigen never saw Euden again… So Maigen moved on. Now she has you guys with her." I slipped into third person for a while, a habit I had picked up from Tobi from Naruto and Erik from Phantom of the Opera. I smiled sadly, "So you see, I pick my friends very carefully so that I don't get hurt. It's sad but it's what keeps me from isolating myself again."

I yelped as Zack pulled me into a big hug with him, Kadaj, Reno, Cloud, and Loz. "Awww! I'm sorry Maigen. I won't bring it up anymore. Don't ever repeat that story to us ever again!"

I grimaced when I saw the waterworks. I hated when people I love cry. But at the same time, I felt touched that they would care for me like that. Some others would have me repeat my little monologue as a story to others and others would take it as a joke. My eyes stung as I held back the tears, "It's a promise, you guys. I'll never repeat my story ever again."

I led them the rest of the way and sat in my seat, with them surrounding me, before bursting into tears of happiness.

"You're sitting in my seat." A familiar voice interrupted our crying session.

We all turned to glare at David, "DON'T INTERRUPT US!"

"Hey Maigen, who're these hotties?" Artin came up to us.

I rubbed my head in exhaustion, "Korera wa watashi no yūjindesu. Sono uchi no ikutsu ka wa watashi no itokodesu. (Translation: These are my friends. Some of them are my cousins.)"

Artin and everyone else in the room stared at me in confusion, "We don't speak Chinese Maigen." Mohamid spoke up, sneering.

I glared, "That was Japanese, dipshit. If you had half a brain, you'd know that."

Mohamid flipped me the finger, "Oh yeah? Then why am I in all honors classes?"

I stood up from my desk, "Because you cheat on all the tests, arrogant asshole!"

Mohamid glared at me, "At least **I** didn't get my parents killed."

I felt as if everything froze. _Did anyone else know about what truly happened that night?_ My thoughts were cut when Weiss out of all the people in the world defended me. "Don't you dare go pinning the blame on my cousin! It wasn't her fault! If you're willing to go that low just to win against her then, you are just scum."

Mohamid stood up and got into Weiss's face, which was stupid. I mean you all know what Weiss looks like right? I mean, he's really tall and muscular so a normal person, I repeat,**normal person**, would probably be asking for an early death if they were to confront Weiss. But that's coming from the short little Asian girl that punched him in the face. Anyways, Mohamid got into Weiss's face just as the bell rang and Mr. Elezaro stepped in. "You want a piece of me? Huh? Do you?" he tried to threaten.

The key word to that was **tried**. Mohamid tried to make him look taller and muscular than Weiss, but really? He may be taller than me by a full head, but there was no way that Waseem could beat Weiss's 6' 3"… OR look as muscular. To me, he only made himself look pathetic, inferior, and foolish.

Weiss glared menacingly at Mohamid, "No. The question to be answered is whether **you** want to mess with **me**."

"Excuse me!" Mr. Elezaro announced, "Please take your seats. There will be a meeting in the auditorium soon."

Glaring at Mohamid, Weiss took the seat to the right of me. I glanced towards Mohamid, "You do know that if you mess with Weiss, you mess with me and Nero. Therefore messing with the whole family." I gestured to our group. "So don't make this an unnecessary conflict. It'll ruin all of our records. I prefer not to fight, but if you try to bring in friends… then I will not hold back."

Joe… a senior and a friend of Mohamid, turned around and confronted me. "Look Ribs, don't pick a fight that you and your pals will lose. So go run back to your father and stick to eating ribs."

I glared. He had picked the wrong topic to insult me on. Snarling, I stood up from my desk. "Okay that's it! You know nothing! You're just a pathetic overweight arrogant asshole! My family's dead you hear me? Dead! And just because I ate ribs for breakfast once, doesn't mean that you have the right to start calling me that and making fun of me for it!" I began to take my seat again, "And for the record. We can kick all of your assets anytime."

All of a sudden the loud speaker blared to life.

_Attention all staff and students. May I have all classes in the second floor report to the auditorium at this time for an important announcement?_

We all stood up and I made the point to glare at the jock senior and smirked, "Does your girlfriend know that you're cheating on her?" I grabbed onto Weiss's hand and walked away with the others as Joe's eyes widened.

When we arrived at the doors of the auditorium, we were seated in the fifth row from the front. The seat order for us was: Yazoo; Loz; Kadaj; Reno; Zack; Me; Cloud; Weiss; Nero. My backpack was on the floor in front of me and my books were… distributed among Zack, Cloud, Loz, and Kadaj… How nice are they?

I felt Zack poke my arm as we waited for the rest of the school to pile into the auditorium. "Are you over the mental breakdown yet?"

I rolled my eyes, "I had a physical and emotional breakdown the past few days and today I get a mental one. I'm just _peachy_, Zack."

Cloud leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Was what you said all true?"

I shrugged, "My rant in the hallway or the argument with Mohamid and Joe?"

"How about both?" Zack supplied.

I guess lying to them was out of the question, "Yes it's all true. Everything as I said did happen and it was what I felt at the time."

I felt a pat to my back and glanced behind. Sad to say, I wasn't all that surprised that it was Adiana who had tapped me. "We understand Maigen. No need to speak anymore. But you have a lot of explaining to me. The whole row you're sitting in is full of good looking guys that look like they're from your favorite video game."

I kind of had a sweat drop moment at this point. I should've known that Adiana would figure it out. She wasn't like the other idiots in school where I could just tell them that they just like cosplaying and that they're family that happens to have the same exact names of the Final Fantasy VII characters with the exception of their last names. She just wouldn't buy it.

Sighing, I decided to tell her the truth. "It's kind of complicated, Adiana. I'll explain to you during lunch."

Adiana glared playfully, "You better."

I turned around when another person poked me in the butt. I frowned at Zack who pointed to the front of me. I turned and my eyes widened. Standing in front of me were Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, Tseng, and Vincent. "What are you guys doing in the students' section?"

Genesis smirked, "No one said that we couldn't sit with you guys."

Angeal smacked him in the back of the head, "You don't flirt with students, Genesis."

Genesis rubbed his head, "That hurt Angeal and she lives with us, so she won't mind."

Sephiroth scoffed, "It's against school rules. That and you're flirting with a minor. You're 24 Genesis, she's 14. There's a ten year gap between you two."

I was lost. If they were talking about Genesis being intimate with me… I seriously don't mind as long as it's not in school. The same goes for the rest of the group. I'm still convinced that I'm not good enough for any of them or anyone in general. Everyone deserves someone better than me. I have low self-esteem issues so don't make fun of me! Try having your family tease you about being the meaty one of the family. Everyone else is anorexic in my family and not to mention shorter than me! So they think that I need to lose weight… Now I don't feel comfortable about myself at all! Until I can get myself an ideal man in my opinion (that is not Mezzo or any of my acquaintances) I will not believe otherwise! And for the record, I feel insecure about my body and love life, nothing else.

I felt Adiana poke me from behind again and turned around, _again_. "What is it Adiana?"

She pointed at Genesis and Sephiroth, "Mr. Rhapsodos and the new gym teacher-…"

"-Mr. Angelus." I supplied.

"Mr. Rhapsodos and **Mr. Angelus** both look like their fighting over you." She elbowed my arm, smirking in a knowing way.

I sent her a questioning look, "No they're not. Mr. Rhapsodos was playing around and Mr. Angelus didn't like it so he's scolding Mr. Rhapsodos."

Adiana shook her head, "You are too innocent sometimes, Maigen."

"What do you mean innocent? She cursed out that lady at the mall two days ago. She also killed the murderers of her family. I don't call that innocent." Yazoo butted in.

"Meanie." I muttered, crossing my arms and pouting in the chair.

Adiana huffed and glared at Yazoo. I don't think she likes him very much. "She's innocent because although she knows the ugliness of the word, she doesn't know anything about se-…"

"-The naughty-no-no!" I yelped out covering my ears and shaking my head. "Don't talk about it while I'm here! ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY2! Lalalala I don't want to hear it!"

Adiana rolled her eyes, "See what I mean?"

Everyone was staring at me and Yazoo nodded, "Yes, now I do."

"Ahem! May I have your attention please?" One of the counselors called out from the stage. The auditorium went silent except for a few people. "As some of the rumors going around went, Mr. Artillo has been fired for private matters. Mrs. Murt has also been fired for assault on a student. Mr. Hertz has finally retired, but we have some great news! We have found a replacement for Mr. Artillo! May I have the honor to introduce to you our new principal, Mr. Shinra!"

Half-hearted clapping resounded around the room as Rufus took the stage. I grinned and whispered proudly to Adiana, "That's my godfather."

Adiana laughed, "I'd figure that your godfather would be so good looking. Your family's good looking, but you're just cute and adorable!"

I groaned, "I seem to always be 'cute and adorable', huh?"

"Thank you. It is my pleasure to fill in Mr. Artillo's role as principal of Belleville High School. I hope to do my best and to take charge of this school. I hope to reinforce the school's disciplinary force with the help of my personal bodyguard. There have been many complaints about the school's capability to care for students and the grounds. This year will be different than all the other years that my predecessors have taken charge." Rufus announced.

A great applause overtook the whole auditorium and I heard many girls sigh. I stifled a laugh at how stupid they all acted. Rufus was good looking, but he was too high class for me. I consider myself pretty high class, but not like the millionaire kind. That fits Rufus's description almost perfectly.

"Your godfather's pretty good at this kind of stuff, Maigen." Adiana commented from behind me. "Has he done this before?"

I smirked, "Yeah. He used to be president of a large company."

"Oh, what company?" she questioned.

"I really don't know what company." I replied, sagging my shoulders. "We're not really that close, so I don't know that much about him."

Reno shrugged, "He's like that with everyone, Maigen."

I pointed at Reno while still facing Adiana, "What he says is true."

"-That concludes my plans for this year. Thank you for your time." Rufus began to walk away, but someone in the back of him tapped his shoulder causing him to face the crowd again. "Our criteria this year will be higher than usual. We will also have fundraisers to help the school. Thank you." He disappeared after that.

The counselor from before stepped out again, "We will now move to period 6."

After he had said those words, I scrambled out of the auditorium with the others in tow. I directed Weiss, Nero, and Loz to Creative Writing and directions to get to Pre-Cal from there; Yazoo to Algebra2; and Reno to Geometry, while also giving them instructions to the lunchroom before leaving with Zack, Cloud, and Kadaj.

As we walked down the hallway I yelled out to all of them, "Don't attract attention to yourselves!" If they heard me, they didn't reply, but I did get a few nods of the head from Zack, Cloud, Kadaj, and Reno.

What's funnier? Zack glomping the life out of Angeal as soon as we entered Algebra or the fact that nobody bothered helping Angeal out of Zack's clutches… For me, it was the former of the two. I know that Angeal's like 24 or something, but it's embarrassing when you get glomped by a student!

I facepalmed, "What did I say about attracting attention, Zack?"

He let go of Angeal immediately and scratched the back of his head, "Uh… Not to?"

I smacked him over the head with my Algebra textbook lightly, "Correct, so sit down before I get angry."

I sighed and glanced at Angeal in apology as I made my way over to my desk. I stayed silent as Angeal began to call roll. I watched as Zack, Cloud, and Kadaj were asked questions during class. They were sitting in my row, which only had three seats left, so that was a pure coincidence. Angeal gave us 15 minutes out of the 40 minutes here to get to know each other. That was better than a whole class like Genesis almost did. Wait. If they were my teachers did I have to call them Mr. Rhapsodos, and Mr. Hewley? I'll call them that in school. There is no way in hell that I'll call them that at home. Nope. No way. Never.

On with the story… I sat in my seat as I listened to the class discussion:

"So. How old are you Zack?" Girl #1 asked.

"Yeah, how old are you?" Girl #2 asked.

I rolled my eyes at their flirting. Zack answered them anyway even though he knew. "I'm 15 years old."

"Really? That's such a coincidence. So am I!" Girl #2 responded.

"Yeah. So, what's your favorite color?" Girl #3 asked.

"I'd have to say blue. Like the sky." He confessed.

"That's mine, too!" Girl #1 exclaimed. "It's like we're made for each other!"

I headdesked myself, "This is madness." _No! This. Is. SPARTA! _I'm just kidding. I took a chance to turn to glance at how Kadaj and Cloud were doing. I groaned, "Why are they surrounded by boys?"

Indeed, I had no clue. Kadaj looked like a girl, so I might get that. But it was clear that Cloud is in fact, a guy. Why was he in that group?

"Are you two like, together or something?" Boy #1 questioned.

"Wha-? No, not at all, I don't roll that way!" Cloud quickly protested.

"So you're gay?" Boy #2 supplied.

"No! I'm straight!" he fired back.

Poor Kadaj looked very lost. He hadn't said a single word in this class yet… Poor Cloud was getting mistaken for a homosexual and Kadaj was mistaken as a girl. Oh boy.

"Sure you are. I mean what kind of a straight guy has a name like Cloud? I'll tell you what. If you kiss the new girl, Kadaj, on the lips, I'll believe that you're straight." Boy #1 declared.

I guess something is Kadaj clicked when he started yelling, "I'm not a fucking girl! Does it look like I have breasts! If you want him to kiss someone, let him kiss little sister!"

Kadaj pushed Cloud in my direction, but I didn't move. He stumbled in my direction, but was stopped by Zack's foot, which made contact with his stomach. Albeit a little painfully. Cloud collapsed in obvious pain while I was grateful to Zack for saving me from getting my first kiss forcefully taken.

"Okay. I think that's enough getting to know time." Angeal announced. "My name is Mr. Hewley and I'll be your Algebra teacher for the rest of the school year. I'm going to follow Mr. Hertz's teaching schedule, so bare with me for the time being."

For the rest of the class, he taught us about permutations and combinations, how to tell if a situation is a permutation or a combination, and how to find it on a calculator. Everything went well. Until…

A boy charged into the room, "Teacher! There's a large brawl down the hallway between a kid named Mohamid, his gang of friends, which was about 20 people, and three guys. A white haired senior, his black haired brother, and their silver haired cousin."

**#$%^&*(%^$#$%^&*(&^%$#$%^&*(&^%$#$%^&*(&^%$#%^&*(*&^%$#%^&*(*&^%$#$#$$#%$^%&*^(&^^&%^#$%##$%^&*(&(^%&$#%^&*()_(*&^%$#$%^&*()(*&^%$#%^&*()*&^%$#%**^&$(^&%(&^$**

**Bane: Well I'm happy!**

**Genesis: (*sitting on the couch reading LOVELESS) Why?**

**Bane: Because I'm going to Six Flags tomorrow!**

**Zack: (*runs up and begs) Please bring us with you! I'll be good!**

**Angeal: Zack, you're not going.**

**Zack: But whyyyy, Angeal?**

**Sephiroth: Did you finish the chores?**

**Zack: No…**

**Sephiroth: Then you can't go.**

**Zack: (*sits on the floor and sobs)**

**Genesis: Such a puppy. What do you think, Bane?**

**Bane: (*blushes from remembering what she dreamt up last chapter) Uh. Yeah, but you are all apart of my mind so it's like you're coming too.**

**Zack: Yes!**

**Rufus: This is your second time going, correct?**

**Bane: (*nods head) I went the first time with the school wind ensemble, chamber orchestra, and concert choir. Bibliotaku748 went too!**

**Reno: Is she your friend?**

**Bane: Of course. If she weren't I wouldn't be writing a story for Vampire Knight with her!**

**Genesis: So how's the vote for the plays going?**

**Bane: It's a secret. (*put a finger in front of her mouth and smirks)**

**Genesis: (*pouts) Aww. You can tell me.**

**Bane: No way.**

**Angeal: Is there anything else you want to add to this omake?**

**Bane: Yes. (*walks towards the closet in her room.)**

**Genesis: (*follows her) What is it?**

**Bane: (*points to the stairway) Go back downstairs and I'll give you a hint.**

**Genesis: (*crosses arms) Fine.**

**Bane: (*nods) Good. Here's the hint. Papa lapped a pap lopped**

**Bane: (*pushes Genesis out of the room) Enjoy decrypting~!**

**Genesis: Wait! Give me another hint!**

**Bane: (*sings a verse from one of her favorite songs) ~Boku wa… kimi no… Vanilla~**

**Genesis: (*pounds on the door) I don't speak Japanese! That's barely a hint!**

**Bane: (*calls through the door) Too bad!**

**Grumbling, Genesis stalks back downstairs.**

**Angeal: What was the 'addition'?**

**Genesis: (*flops onto the couch gracefully… I can never do that without bouncing up again.) Her hint was "~Boku wa… kimi no… Vanilla~"**

**Sephiroth: (*chuckles) Leave it to her to manipulate you to sing that verse.**

**Genesis: Manipulate? And what verse?**

**(*Music starts playing upstairs and you can hear a man and a girl singing)**

**Genesis: (*gets up from the couch) That better not be who I think it is.**

**Sephiroth: He's her idol. It's only right that he becomes apart of her imagination too.**

**Genesis: I know, but damn it all! We don't have to share her!**

**Angeal: If you have a problem, go talk to them about it. I'm pretty sure you won't understand what those two are saying anyway.**

**Genesis: Fine I will. (*marches up the stairs) Bane. Who're you singing with?**

**Bane: (*opens door) Promise you won't freak out?**

**Genesis: I promise.**

**Bane: (*turns around) G-sama****, kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu. Genesis-kun desu. (Translation: G-sama, this is my friend. This is Genesis.**

**G: Camui G desu. Douzo yoroshiku. (Translation: I'm G Camui. Nice to meet you.)**

**Genesis: Uh. I don't speak Japanese.**

**G: I see. That will be a problem if you do not understand us when we talk.**

**Bane: It's a good thing that G-sama can speak English, right?**

**Genesis: I guess.**

**Angeal: (*walks up to G-sama and holds out his hand) Hello. I'm also Maigen's friend. I'm Angeal.**

**Everyone else introduces themselves.**

**Bane: Please stop using my real name.**

**G: **あなたの名前は美しいです。**(I can type in kanji now, but I'll stick with romanji for your sakes.) ****Anata no namae wa utsukushiidesu. (Translation: Your name is beautiful.)**

**Bane: (*blush) Domo Arigatogozaimashita (Translation: Thank you very much.)**

**G: (*shakes Angeal's hand) It is a pleasure to meet you!**

**Bane: Can we continue, G-sama?**

**G: There is no need to be formal. Let's sing again before I leave for the tour.**

**Bane: (*turns to Genesis and the others) Do you all want to join us?**

**Everyone: Sure.**

**We spent the rest of the day singing and dancing. And one thing I've found out… Reno can not sing for his life… then my mind told itself that G-sama- I mean, G-kun had to leave for the YFC tour… lol just kidding!**

**I don't think Genesis hates G in the omake anymore!**

**%$^%&^)&*^&*(%(^%**#$%$#%&*$(^%)*&%(&^$*^%#%$$&#(&%$(^&^&($^%#&$$&%#*%^$(&^%(^%&*^)*&^(&*^%^%$%$#$#&%^$$(^%^*%$&$%^#$%$#*^%$*%****(&^%&^$^%$%#%^*$^&%(*&%)*&**

**Haha told you I'm insane! Thanks for the reviews!**

**twilight-yuna17: I felt that my character was becoming to much of a Mary-sue. So I needed to have one of them hate her… I really didn't want to, but I guess you can say that I'm writing what I want while trying to please the readers. Yes Kadaj helps a lot. I find him more likable than Yazoo for some reason.**

**Ty-Lea Rose Yuko: Thanks for the review! I try to thank all of my reviewers when possible. I feel that the reader shouldn't be left out of anything when they take the time to write the author a review.**

**bibliotaku748: Lol. I hope this chapter makes up for the 'rip off'. But that's your fault for begging for a spoiler.**

**Also to one of my newest reviewer!**

**Catslock: I bet Genesis would enjoy a LOVELESS play. It would be fun to have everyone yell at his narration! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	20. Chapter XVIII: Fight! Then Lunch

******I now present to you: Chapter XVIII: Fight! ... And then lunch.**

**^%)&^_&*(^&($^%#(^&%_)&*^*&%^*#$%#*%$)^*&^)(*&^&$^&$%#(&%^$)*&%^&$%&%$#$&^)%)*&%&^$%&#$!$(^&%)&*^&*%*&^#$%^$#%%^*$)*&^_(*&)*%&^#$%$#E%*^^)&*^_(*^&*&%^#$!#$%*)**

_A boy charged into the room, "Teacher! There's a large brawl down the hallway between a kid named Mohamid, his gang of friends, which was about 20 people, and three guys. A white haired senior, his black haired brother, and their silver haired cousin."_

Zack, Kadaj, Cloud, Angeal, and I immediately stood up from our seats in the classroom… Well, Angeal was already standing in the first place. But anyways… All five of us ran out of the room as soon as the description of the person Waseem was challenging was given. Not a single student in this school has white hair. Weiss was the only one. That itself, was a dead give away.

I mentally cursed. _Of course Waseem would use his lunch period to make a scene. The fool thought that he and his little gang of kuso (translation: shit) could beat a really muscular and tall senior, who had back up from Nero and Loz. Geez. The stupidity of that boy never ceases to amaze me._

We ran down the hallway expecting 20 boys beat up, but we ran into something more annoying. Yep! Mohamid got reinforcements! About 36 or so boys crowded around Weiss, Nero, and Loz. They were holding their own, but some of these guys brought random objects to the fight.

A few had knives on them, but they couldn't do much damage to the trio. Weiss was fighting like he did in Final Fantasy VII, ruthless and powerful. They didn't use their powers, which was good thinking on their part, but I only think that the trio's toying with them. Weiss could've beaten them all up by himself in like two seconds! Loz and Nero were just deflecting and disarming.

"What is going on here?" Angeal cried in outrage.

Weiss stopped fighting and smirked, "They picked a fight. I'm just defending myself."

Words can't tell you how much I wanted to punch Mohamid when he tried to play innocent, "N-no! You have to believe me! He ambushed me and his two friends wanted to beat me up too! My friends tried to stop them, but they wouldn't leave me alone!" He walked up to Angeal, "Please do something about him, man!"

Weiss and I snorted, "He's lying!"

We turned to face each other, "Stop copying me!"

We got in each other's face, "No you stop copying me!"

Weiss grit his teeth, "I'll stop copying you, when you stop copying me!"

I didn't back down, "I'll agree to that only if I get to sock Waseem in the face!"

"Fine!" he yelled.

"Fine!" I yelled in equal volume.

Weiss grinned and held his hand out to me, "Then we've reach a compromise, cousin." My eyes widened at the cousin comment and I didn't speak. Out of nowhere a hand was waved in front of my face, "Hello? I didn't break you right?"

I blushed and took Weiss's extended hand and shook, "You didn't break me Weiss, but I'm going to break Mohamid's face!"

We both turned towards Mohamid, who was still begging Angeal to get Weiss, Nero, and Loz into trouble. We both had a hand on his collar and Weiss lifted him up to face us. Well, mainly him because I was too short. "You know what, Mr. Hewley! I take it back! Give Maigen detention, too!" He kicked me in the chest.

I glared at him before raising my fist and punched him in the stomach, "That is payback, asshole! No one touches me without my permission!"

At one point during all this mess, Yazoo and Reno decided to join us in the hallway. Everyone bunched around Mohamid, except Yazoo, who was fine with my getting kicked in the chest. Great. Now they hurt.

"The hell was that for, Mohamid!" Zack yelled in anger, "You can't just kick a girl in the chest!"

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was a girl," said cretin replied snidely.

"You ignorant cretin!" I shouted, trying to throw a punch at him. (Heheh! I sound like Albert Wesker from Resident Evil!)

"Whoa! Maigen don't go doing that!" Reno gripped my fist and stopped it from making contact with Mohamid's gut. I ended up trying to kick him with my left leg, which Reno hooked his leg to. I went to swing my right hand, "Oi! Nero! Help me restrain her!" Nero held my right arm.

"You don't want to get into trouble, right?" he chided. "You shouldn't get so worked up, Maigen. People are staring."

I glanced around for a second before lifting my right leg to kick Mohamid where the sun doesn't shine. Nero restrained that leg. Reno and Nero looked like they were in crisscross positions behind me. "Let them stare! I need to punch that bastard!"

"Maigen. Stop it." A deep voice called from behind me.

I turned to face Sephiroth, "Uh."

He turned and stared at me, "To be a First Class SOLDIER you must control your emotions, Maigen."

I scowled. Leave it to General Sephiroth to use the 'a First Class SOLDIER must do this…' excuse. "Fine. You win."

Sephiroth smirked, "Good." He turned to Angeal, "What is going on here, Angeal? It is almost 8th period and you still haven't cleared this mess."

Angeal sweatdropped, "Maigen decided to agree with Weiss."

Sephiroth frowned, "Where are the others?"

Angeal shrugged, "Genesis is probably teaching right now. Tseng's probably doing hall duty right now and Vincent's probably relaxing in the Orchestra room."

Sephiroth glanced at all the students in the hall, "Aren't you all supposed to be in class?" They fled immediately. He turned to everyone that was involved in the fight, "Who started it?"

Our group pointed at Mohamid's group, who pointed at us. "Mohamid (Weiss) did it!" we all yelled at the same time glaring at the opposite team.

"Okay that is enough! Loz. Tell me what happened." Sephiroth demanded. _I think his pretty hair's going off the fritz._

Loz snapped to attention, "We were going to Creative Writing, but Mohamid and his friends confronted us in the halls. We defended ourselves as they got reinforcements and weapons. Weapons are banned in school right?" I nodded in confirmation. "We were doing pretty good with defending ourselves while Weiss knocked them out until little sis and the others arrived. After that, Mohamid was being a kiss up to Ang- I mean Mr. Hewley. When Weiss and Maigen pulled him away, he kicked poor little sis in the chest! Then little sis punched him in the stomach. Then he insulted her, but Reno and Nero restrained her before she could seriously hurt him." Loz began to sob, "What if little sis doesn't fully develop because of him? If she doesn't then I'll kill him!"

I blushed and everyone got uncomfortable. Sephiroth looked like he was also embarrassed. "Loz. Even though she's our cousin and we love her very much. You can't go around talking about whether or not her erm… breasts will develop because of that idiot over there." He gestured to Mohamid, "Mohamid, you and your friends will report to the main office for proper discipline. Everyone else-…" _beep… beep… beep… beep…_ "We are now reporting to our lunch periods."

He and Angeal walked away, leaving me to bring the rest of them to the lunchroom. I sighed as I deposited my books into my locker. "Did Tseng and the others pack your lunches?" They each held up a paper bag. I shrugged and grabbed my lunch from the locker with my books for the last few periods.

Walking into the lunchroom before everyone else, we took the whole table that was closest to the doors. Here's the seating: (There's 16 seats each table)

Z- Zack K- Kadaj C- Cloud Y- Yazoo R- Reno W- Weiss N- Nero L- Loz

First Row: R, Z, C, K, Me Second Row: W, N, L, Y,

As students entered the lunchroom, they stared at our group. No. The girls oogled at us, while the guys stared at how weird looking we all looked. We didn't bother looking at them.

"Maigen!" I turned my head and saw Adiana standing in front of me. "Can I eat with you guys?"

I chewed on a piece of bacon "Go ahead."

She sat down with her lunch and began to eat before interrogating me. "So. What's the story this time?"

I finished the rest of my lunch before answering her. "I don't care if you don't believe me, but believe it or not, they appeared on my bed in a thunderstorm in the forms of chibis."

"Were they cute?" I expected her to say that I'm lying, but not that!

I choked on my iced tea, "What?"

She leaned in, "I said, 'were they cute?"

I thought for a moment, "They were very cute. So cute that I wanted to rub my cheek against theirs."

She whistled, "Wow. They must have been exploding with the power of cuteness."

I nodded furiously, "The next morning was last Friday. They came to school with me. Although they were hiding at first."

She gestured towards Reno, "What's his name?"

"Reno." I muttered quietly. She had that really dreamy look that she got when she saw a guy that she thought was good looking. "You realize that if you choose to pursue him and he returns to his world, you'll be left heartbroken right?"

Adiana stared at me, "That sucks a lot."

I nodded, "I know. They're all good looking, but I can't allow myself to fall for any of them. If they leave, I'll be left in the same state that you'll be in."

Adiana smirked, "Well at least we both suffer together. We can be like drinking buddies."

That last part came out louder than we thought, which attracted the attention of the people surrounding us. I laughed, "Except we'll be stuffing our faces with ice cream!" That seemed to get everyone to ignore us for now. I faced Adiana again, "I'm still not risking it."

She pats my head from across the table, "You know that's not true. By the end of the year, you'll fall in love with at least one of them." Adiana winked as she finished her lunch too, "You and Mr. Rhapsodos seem pretty close already."

I began to wave my hands in front of me in furious motions, "N-no!" I lowered my voice, "That's a teacher-student relationship! It's taboo!"

Adiana scoffed, "There are a whole bunch of manga with student-teacher relationships, Maigen. The fact that you live in the same house is like a bonus for you both."

I shook my head, "I can't love Genesis."

Adiana raised an eyebrow; "We can just call them by their first names, right?"

I nodded, "You probably know who's who from my obsessive rants about them."

She shook her head, "I usually let the things you tell me come in through one ear and out the other."

A vein pulsed, but then I started feeling that little tight sensation in my bladder when you need to take a tinkle. Yeah I said it. I'm not embarrassed to talk about it! I stood up abruptly, "I've got to go to the little lady's room, excuse me."

I fast walked out of the door and found Genesis and Sephiroth on bathroom duty. "Where are you going, Maigen?" Genesis asked.

I started pacing, "I need to use the bathroom, Mr. Rhapsodos."

Genesis nodded and immediately went to open the bathroom door. "You may go, Maigen."

(5 minutes later… this is too awkward)

I left the bathroom and began to have a conversation with Genesis and Sephiroth. "There's no school tomorrow."

Sephiroth nodded, "Do you have anything to do as a hobby, Maigen?"

I scratched my head. "I have kendo today at 7:30pm. But that's it. On Thursday I have piano lessons at 8pm. Then on Friday, I have kendo at 7pm. But that's about it for now."

Sephiroth nodded, "You have a full plate with us in your house then."

I shook my head, "I'm used to have my plate overflowing. So far I've handled it quite well."

Genesis and Sephiroth smirked at me proudly and slightly worried. Genesis knelt in front of me. "Don't hesitate to ask us for help. We don't expect you to be strong."

I sniffled, "Alright. I've got to get back to my seat. I'll see you after school!"

I crept back to my seat, cringing from the loudness of the room. I headdesked, "I hate loud noises." Kadaj and Adiana poked my head repeatedly.

"Are you okay little sister?"

"Why did you headdesk?"

_Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke…_

I slapped both of their hands away. "Quit it!"

Adiana grinned knowingly, "Maigen?"

"What do you want?" I groaned.

"Do you remember when you tied that cherry stem with your tongue?" she prodded.

All attention was turned to me at that point. If you don't know, if you're able to tie a knot with your tongue while using a cherry stem, you're considered to be a great kisser. I tried it about a few days before my birthday and I tied it in 26.34 seconds. But I've never kissed anyone to find out if it was true.

I raised my head from the lunch table. "What about it?"

She grinned, "Can you do it again?" Adiana held up a cherry with its stem still attached.

I thought for a moment. "Do I get to eat the cherry?" I got a nod in reply. "Then sure."

I took hold of the cherry and stuck the stem into my mouth. I watched as Adiana eyed me closely before beginning. My tongue weaved its way into knots, taking the ends of the stems with it. (AN: I really did do this in the same time. My brothers and I were having a contest on who could do it faster. I could do it, my little brother could do it with about 2 to 5 minutes, but my eldest brother can't do it at all!) Grinning, I stuck my tongue out for all to see.

Zack whistled, "Looks like you're a great kisser!"

I shook my head. "I've never kissed anyone before so I'm not so sure about that."

Kadaj draped his arm around me, "And you'll stay that way until I approve of the boy who takes it!"

I groaned heavily, "Mio dio!" (Translation: My God! In Italian… I don't think I spelled it right…) "You're the overprotective big brother now?"

Kadaj nodded happily, not noticing my annoyance. "That is correct, sister."

I frowned, "You can be my overprotective cousin, but not my brother." I stared at the two Transformers wristbands on my left and right wrists. The one on the right had an Autobot insignia, while the left had the Decepticon insignia; red and purple; my little and eldest brothers. My eyes glinted from the moisture in my eyes, "No one can replace my brothers."

The bell rang and I stood up from my seat amongst a pitying silence-filled table. "We have to get to our next class. All of our classes are in the same hallway."

**^%_(*^&(*&%^&$&%#%$#(^%_*^*&$%^#$!$%(^&%)&(*^_(*&)*&%*^#$%*^%$)*^&%^_*(&_*(^&($$%!#$!$%(^&%)*&^&^$&%#$^!^$#*%^&$)*&%&(^$&%#$!$%#(%&)*&%^*&#$^%#$E%^*%)*&^(&^$&%$&**

**Bane: Good Morning everyone!**

**Everyone: *grumbles**

**Bane: (*pouts) Anyways. I'm sorry for the short chapter! I've been running out of ideas for school time in the story… and I can't remember how most of my classes went. Also, I had to make Maigen cranky for the end.**

**Sephiroth: You did the best you could with it.**

**Bane: Ah! My back!**

**Yazoo: (*walks away from poking Bane in the sunburned area)**

**Bane: (*wails) **

**Genesis: (*runs after him) Get back here!**

**Yazoo: (*turns and glares) Not until she gets the hell out of my life!**

**Bane: Fortitii! (Translation: Go f*# yourself! In Italian. I spelled it wrong didn't I?) That is never going to happen as long as I write this story!**

**Weiss: (*sighs and turns to the audience) This little hatred of theirs has to stop soon.**

**Zack: (*pops out of nowhere) Or is it love?**

**Both Yazoo and Bane pop out: Hell no!**

**6%)&^)*&%&*^$&%$*$%#(^%*(&%^^*#^$%*^%$(^&*%^$#(^&%)*&^%(&$&%#*%^$)&*^*(^&($^%#%$*$^%$(^%)*&^&*^$*^%#$&%&$%&#(^&%)*&%&(^$#&$%$&%#^&%)&*^)&^(&$^&%#$*^%$)*^&**

**Yes. Yazoo hates both Bane and Maigen with a passion... It's sad really.**

**Sayonara Yasashii Akumu: I sorry if the AN was misleading. And I'm sorry for disappointing you. I try not to do that in the future.**

**Ty-Lea Rose Yuko: Mohamid is a coward in real life. He's all talk. I believe bibliotaku agrees with me.**

**Bibliotaku748: On Monday, I was yelling at you and Devon as you walked past the tennis courts… Thanks for ignoring me! Too bad you couldn't go to Six Flags with us… Happy now? Adiana and Reno might be an item. We have to talk on Facebook again! We got another review for A New Cycle Begins! We have to update that story soon!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	21. Chapter IXX: Ending with Idiocy!

******Chapter IXX: Ending with Idiocy!**

**(*^)*&%%^#*^%$)^%(&*%^&*^$%$%$#)%_*&^&($%^&$%(%^)&^(&^$^&%#&%$#(%&^%)&*^_*)(^(&*%&$^*#%$$%#(^&%)*&^)&^)*&**

_The bell rang and I stood up from my seat amongst a pitying silence-filled table. "We have to get to our next class. All of our classes are in the same hallway."_

On the walk to our classes, the others tried to get me to talk to them. We departed from Adiana as we headed towards the History section of the hall. I pointed to the door across the hall for Reno, the door next to us for Yazoo, and the hidden door in the side corridor for Weiss and the other two seniors. While not speaking, I led the rest into our history classroom.

They sat close to me and continued to get me to talk. As the other members of the class entered, I began to remember my brother. My eldest brother was the best older brother I could ever want. He would surprise me with random gifts. I always loved them, though. He got me the books I wanted, and even gifts that I never said I wanted. He just knew. That's why I can't have him replaced. I can't have anyone who died replaced, especially if they were close to me.

I ignored Kadaj's poking. He had been trying to get my attention by doing many random things. I guess he ran out of ideas. That's why he resorted to poking the silence out of me. It wouldn't have worked if I was emotionally stable, but I wasn't.

I slapped his hand away, "Leave me to my misery, Kadaj."

He wouldn't accept that. Grabbing my hand before I could pull back, he began to beg me, "Please talk to us! I'm sorry for hurting you and bringing up bad memories! So please don't ignore us!"

I don't like it when people beg me, so I immediately caved. "Fine. Just don't bring that subject up again."

Kadaj, Zack, and Cloud nodded furiously, "We promise!"

The bell rang and two figured walked into class. Mr. E and Tseng… wait. Did he even have a last name?

"Alright class, sit in your seats." Mr. E announced weakly. Once the class had silenced, Mr. E made a 'very important announcement'. "I have a very important announcement to make." He gestured to Tseng, "Mr. Camui here is our new student teacher. He'll be teaching some of our lessons, so be nice to him!"

My right eye twitched. _Camui_? Of all the last names in the world, it had to be _Camui?_ I began to quietly bang my head against the desk as I sat in the back.

Zack poked me. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

I stopped and turned to face him, "Tseng chose the last name of my idol… THIS SUCKS!" I wailed, giving my head a final bang on the desk.

"Are you feeling alright, Maigen?" Tseng asked, blowing his cover. "I'll call Rude to take you home if you're not feeling alright."

I groaned, "Didn't Rufus tell you to not blow your cover?"

Tseng nodded, "But you are under our jurisdiction. So if I feel the need to, I am allowed to forget my instructions."

Mr. E glanced between us, "Do you two know each other?"

Tseng nodded, "She's my niece."

I headdesked, again, while whispering to Zack, Cloud, and Kadaj. "Nobody tells me anything!"

Kadaj pat my back in an attempt at comfort, "We're sorry, little sister."

I sighed, "There is nothing you can do about it."

Mr. E nervously began class again, "We have some knew students today, so why don't we all introduce ourselves and tell what we did over the summer and the past few months."

Mr. E started it off with the row closest to the exit. We were in the rows closest to the window, which was basically the last row there. I liked being near the window because there was always a nice breeze for me, although it would be a pain during the spring because of my allergies. Most of the responses and introductions were half-assed and the same. The normal 'I stayed home and did nothing' response from most people.

When it got to me, I merely lifted my head from the desk and grunted, "My name is Maigen Tsurugi. You all know that. I went to Japan this summer and over the past few months… I spent it in a mini coma. I'm done."

Simple right? Well not for the other three. With them, they had to explain who they were and where they came from.

Kadaj's response was spontaneous, "I'm Kadaj Angelus. I used to live in New York with my three big brothers. I'm Maigen's cousin 6th cousin on her mother's side. Maigen's like a little sister, so don't mess with her. Over the summer, my siblings and I went to Japan with Maigen. Over the past few months I stayed with Maigen in the hospital."

Cloud's response was less detailed, "I'm Cloud Strife. Yes I look like an anime character and no I don't use gel on my hair. I'm one of Maigen's childhood friends. We grew up together with Zack in Harrison. Over the summer, I went to Canada. The past few months were hectic, so I'd rather not say."

Zack's response was optimistic and… unnerving. "Okay! I'm Zack. My last name's Fair. But feel free to call me Zack. I'm Maigen's childhood friend along with Cloud. We've all known each other since were like newborns… Wellllll Maigen was the newborn. Cloud and I were already one year old. Our parents were all pretty close. Just so you know, we're very close."

Ryan spoke out loud, "How close? Like siblings close? Lovers?"

"So close that our parents made us bathe together when we were little." Zack replied without missing a beat. I groaned and proceeded to headdesk after hearing that lie come out of his mouth. Zack turned to me. "You know that you're going to get a concussion if you keep doing that, right?"

I glared at him while hold my fist threateningly. "I'll give **you **a concussion if you don't stop with the lies!"

I believe Zack wanted to dig the hole he was in even deeper. "But we all saw your baby videos, Maigen. We looked so cute in the bath together!" _lies… they were all lies!_

I glared at his attempt to make everything look convincing. I rubbed the back of my neck, "Cloud wasn't with us was he?" I hoped not.

Zack did not notice. "Yep! He was in fact playing with a rubber duck the whole time we had the water fight."

I sunk into my seat, while Cloud blushed and Kadaj sneered. "Please stop Zack. It embarrassing."

Kadaj snaked an arm around my shoulders. "Be careful when you sleep tonight, Zack. If you keep this up, I'll use Souba and end you."

Zack grinned, "Fine. This summer, I went with Cloud to Canada."

A hand raised into the air. "Are you two together?"

Zack grinned, "Maigen and I? Maybe. Does it look like it?"

The person who raised their hand was Amber. "No. I meant you and Cloud."

"W-wha? We're not gay!" Cloud exclaimed in disbelief.

"Are you sure?" she pressed.

"Amber, if they're gay, they're gay. You shouldn't be in other people's business." Mr. E scolded. _At least he could do something right…_

"They're not gay!" I exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" she yelled.

"Fine how?" Zack sighed.

"You have to kiss… Maigen." She responded.

I fell out of my chair and onto the floor. I stayed there, unmoving from the surprise. I wanted to say something against it. It was going to be my first kiss after all… but I don't mind getting kissed by Zack or Cloud… or Kadaj… but since he's my 'cousin' isn't that wrong?

Luckily, I didn't have to say anything because surprise, surprise, Kadaj came to my rescue, again. "No one is going to steal little sister's first kiss!"

The bell rang and I bolted out of there with Zack, Cloud, and Kadaj in tow. We saw the others waiting outside for us. "Follow me! I told them."

As we started up the stairs I turned to the troublesome trio, "We shall never speak of this ever again?"

"Deal." They replied in sync.

Next period was Orchestra and from what I hear, Vincent was teaching it. I braced myself for the lesson. Walking into the Orchestra room I saw a young man in his late twenties wearing black slacks, and a blood red dress shirt with a black tie. I blinked… "Vincent?" His head turned toward me, and it was indeed our lovely, sexy, gunman vampire. "You cut your hair back to the way it was as a Turk?"

His blood red eyes locked with mine as he nodded. "I read that long hair wasn't widely accepted in this world for men. So I decided to have the way it was before." I began to drool… hey you would too if you were in my place. "All of you take a seat. Maigen, go get your violin."

I nodded and left my stuff on my seat. Walking into the chorus room, I opened the locker containing my precious instrument. I noticed random squealing in the other room and yelling. I stalked back into the room and glared at the scene before me.

Three to four hormone overloaded girls were surrounding the gang. I could tell that they were making the guys uncomfortable. Walking up to Vincent I tugged his arm. "What's going on here, Mr. Valentine?"

The girls stared at me, "Do you see what we're seeing, Maigen?"

"Yeah, how can you not just, *moans."

I scrunch my face in disgust, "Don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

They shrugged, "Why not? We want to do sooooo many things to them."

I turned green and ran over to the trashcan. Once there, I proceeded to yak out my lunch. My nickname in school wasn't 'Maigen the psychotic prude' for no reason. After hacking my guts out, I went to retrieve my water bottle and proceeded to rinse the nasty taste from my mouth.

Reno glanced at me in distress, "Are you going to be okay, Maigen?"

I shook my head for the negative. "No one speak like that in front of me ever for the next few years. **Ever**." I growled out.

Vincent saved the day this time. "I'll be your teacher for Orchestra this year. I'm Mr. Valentine to you and I expect that you will all play extraordinarily for the upcoming concert."

By now, all of the Orchestra had arrived. We were all honor students… well, most of us. The worthless students, who weren't there to play, were kicked out in the beginning of the first week of school. Papers were handed out to everyone. I stared at the paper before shrugging and taking out a black pen.

What kind of music can you play?

_All kinds… I prefer music from video games like Final Fantasy VII… I also like Japanese Rock… but we live in the US. _

Can you play an advanced song? Intermediate? Beginner? 

_I can play all three. The most difficult song that I've played was Those Who Fight from the video game Final Fantasy VII and One Winged Angel from the same franchise…_

Please list the instruments you can play.

_Violin; Piano; Trumpet; Flute; Cello; Viola; Percussion; Guitar; Bass Guitar._

What are the songs you wish to play in the spring concert? This year the theme is media.

_I want to play… a lot of songs from FFVII… you should know what it stands for by now… I'm practically obsessed with the franchise. I guess most of the songs I want to play are from FFVII Crisis Core. You decide which songs!_

After filling it out to the fullest of my ability, I wordlessly handed it back to Vincent. I glanced at Weiss and the others, who looked surprisingly amused with the survey. I tapped Zack on the shoulder, "Do any of you know how to play an instrument?"

Zack nodded, "I played the guitar for a while."

Cloud raised his head, "I played drums."

Reno stuck his head between Zack and I, "I played trumpet and cello."

Vincent walked up to us all, "This class will change to support all music. All instruments are accepted."

I grinned cheekily, "This is my new favorite class."

Vincent ignored my comment, which made me pout and sulk quietly in my seat. "This survey will tell me how capable this class is. If I do not find this class worthy of playing more challenging pieces, then we shall simply play the pieces that Mr. Furia left for us."

We all nodded and most continued to fill out the surveys. Lucky for me, Vincent skipped introductions! I'm so happy! Suddenly, the announcement system came on.

_Attention all students. This year Mr. Hewley will be directing the school play. According to the votes from several anonymous people, the play shall be a version of Alice in Wonderland. Please report to the auditorium after school for auditions. All teachers are invited to join in on the audition. _

Many whispers filled the room.

"Are you going to try out for the play?"

"Maybe. I'm not that good at acting."

"I'm going to get the leading role for sure!"

"Tsk. Don't be so sure."

Brenda's face popped in front of mine. "Are you going to audition for the play, Maigen?"

I stared at the ceiling. "I don't plan to." _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep!_ "Well. It's time for the last period."

Diane ran into the room and started dragging me to the next class. "Let's go Maigen." She claimed in her squeaky voice.

I gestured for everyone to follow us. They did… After all, I was the only girl not overflowing with hormones, that'll give them directions without flirting. I don't even think I flirt. Period.

As we received looks from random unimportant people, I verbally directed the upperclassmen of our group to their classes. Diane just dragged me to Biology with Zack, Kadaj, and Cloud on our tails.

Mrs. Konnor did the whole introduce the new kids thing, but no long monologue like almost all the other classes did. We studied how biological chemicals react with each other. This required a lab experiment.

"Remember not to mix these two chemicals." She said pointing to the white board.

Our assignment was to mix the chemicals she gave us and record the reaction. There were two groups and we competed against each other for extra credit. Lucky me, I got Zack, Cloud, and Kadaj on my team. At least now I could keep an eye on both of them. I guess we got lucky. My group could follow directions to the letter… all of the reactions we got were very minor. No explosions or expansions.

The other team, however, was a different story. They went and put water with nitrogen to freeze the water so that they could drop it into gasoline… I don't even want to know what else they did. But whatever they mixed together ended in a violent expansion on their side of the room.

When the screaming started, our group had finished the project. To me, the expansion looked like a giant marshmallow. I really wanted to see what it tasted like… O.o

Of course, I had to go all little brother-like. "It's a… GIANT MARSHMALLOW!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms into the air like the idiot I was. "I wonder if it's friendly."

I was promptly dragged out of the room after that. "Of course it's not friendly! The thing's swallowing up the entire room!" Zack yelled out. He handed me my belongings as the teacher scolded the other team for not following directions. "The room's a mess, but at least the day's almost over."

I nodded in agreement and sat down next to Kadaj. "I'm tired, so I think I'll head straight home after this."

"Oh no you won't." a melodic voice came from my left.

I lazily turned my head to find that Genesis was standing right next to me with his arms crossed. "What do you want, Mr. Rhapsodos?"

Genesis huffed, "You're all going to audition for the play today."

I raised a hand. "Do I even get a say in this?"

"No. I'm your teacher. If you don't do it, I'll fail you for the rest of the year." Genesis claimed.

I made a noise of protest, but the look he gave me told me that he was serious. I sighed and continued to lie on the floor next to Kadaj. "I'm too lazy to go."

Genesis sighed and bent down to pick me up. "If you don't go yourself, then I'll have to carry you there." He lifted my body up without really trying.

I struggled to free myself from his grasp. "N-no! This is embarrassing! We're in a school!"

"Then don't make such a fuss and nobody will know." Genesis retaliated.

I continued to struggle, "Why do I even have to audition for the play? I've never acted before!"

Genesis laughed, "If you are as intelligent as I made you out to be, you'll do just fine."

I growled and began to lightly pull at his hair, "Let me go and I won't pull."

He paused in his steps, gaining the attention of the gang. "You'll pull my hair if I don't let go?" he questioned with an air of arrogance. "If you pull my hair, I'll drop you and leave you to deal with your injuries." He let me drop a little when I let go, causing me to whimper, before he caught me again. He heard my whimper, which made him smirk at me.

Of course I didn't see. My eyes were closed tightly as I clung to his neck. "P-please don't do that again." I begged when I opened my eyes again. Seeing the smirk plastered onto his face, I pouted. "You tricked me!"

He smirked bitterly, "Your world already knows of me. So why are you so surprised of my actions."

I frowned, "You were the enemy in the game, Genesis. We as the gamers, played as the protagonist. Not much was known about you except that you disliked Sephiroth's reputation and that you were arrogant and childish. A little bit of your past was revealed, but I'm not sure if you should know the rest."

Zack strolled alongside us. "So did it say anything about me?"

I laughed at Genesis's annoyance. The attention was no longer to him. "You Zack are the main character of one of the video games. You become a hero."

Zack jumped up and down, "Sweet!"

I smiled at him. He didn't need to know that his heroism was inherited by Cloud because he dies. He also doesn't need to know that Angeal and Sephiroth die too.

We entered the auditorium and Genesis set me down. I shivered. "Man I love this place."

Angeal came up to me, "Are you going to audition?"

I nodded, "Genesis is practically making me."

Angeal handed me a script for Alice. "I know. We all wanted you in on the play. We agreed that you should be Alice."

I quirked an eyebrow, "You seem like you're confident that I'll get it."

Genesis pulled me with him onto the stage. "With my instruction, you'll get it before your script is over. All you have to act out is the beginning."

I watched nervously as more and more people lined themselves for audition. "Well? Which part do I start with?"

Angeal glanced at me, "We're doing a different Alice Story. In it, Alice is alone in the world with no one but her twin. Their family calls them filth and they're shunned by society because they were twins that were born on a Friday the 13th. When her twin disappears and is proclaimed dead, Alice decides to end it all when she stumbles upon a deep hole, while chasing a man with white rabbit ears and a bunny tail. However, Time sends her to Wonderland to find another reason to live. One by one, she meets the inhabitants of Wonderland. She eventually falls in love with the Knight of Hearts, aka Genesis. Finding a reason to live at last, Time gives her a choice to stay in Wonderland or return to the Overworld with her love only. Choosing to live in Wonderland, Alice is finally happy."

Adiana came out of nowhere. "Sounds like a plan to get Maigen and Mr. Rhapsodos together. I'm in!"

"W-what? N-no! I'm doing this so that he doesn't give me a zero!" I stuttered, pointing at Genesis.

"So, you don't want to be with me?" Genesis inquired.

"What?" I asked, confused beyond reason.

Out of nowhere, Angeal whispered, "Read the script."

I stared at the lines, "Oh." Turning to face Genesis, I pretended to think. "I never said that, Ace. We are both from two different worlds. I don't belong in your world. Not many of your neighbors like me."

Genesis took my hand in his, "I don't care if you belong or not. I love you, Alice. Any world you're in, I want to be apart of it."

I stared at him with wide eyes, "Do you mean it? You'll stay with me?"

He nodded and touched his forehead to mine. "Until the day I die."

He leaned forward to kiss me on the cheek. That is, until a great slam filled the entire auditorium.

"I'M READY TO RECEIVE THE ROLL OF ALICE!" an annoyingly loud voice called out. "I'M BETTER THAN ALL OF THESE GIRLS, SO JUST HURRY UP AND HAND ME THE SCRIPT!"

My ears rang as I turned to find an old rival of mine. Jade. You remember her right? We encountered her about 10 chapters ago or something.

Angeal shook his head at the woman's idiocy. "The part has been given to Maigen."

"WAIT. WHY?" she screeched shoving me out of center stage.

I frowned and plugged my ears. One name can be given to someone like her. _Carlotta_. Those of you who know Phantom of the Opera will know what I'm talking about. I gently elbowed Adiana in the ribs before whispering, "Someone just_ please_ make her stop talking. I think my eardrums are going to burst."

Adiana snickered and pointed to the remote that she had in her hand. How I didn't notice before, was beyond me. I stared at the remote and shot her a questioning look… well, as much as I could without flinching from the loudness of Jade's babbling.

Adiana nodded towards the button on the remote. "Push it. You know you want to."

Normally I'm not that simple-minded. If I see a button, I won't have the urge to press it. No. This time, I knew that something would happen to the 'Carlotta-double' if I pressed the right buttons. I stared at her, to the remote, back to her, then to Jade before shrugging. Pulling Genesis to us, I rammed my hand onto all the buttons.

Random panels on the auditorium raised and shot confetti, rubber balls, firecrackers, water, feathers, glitter, you name it onto the 'Carlotta-double'. Her cry of outrage, and surprise pleased us all and as she ran from the room yelling about lawsuits, we all collapsed laughing.

"That was genius, Adiana!" I smirked.

She grinned at me, "These features weren't used for a long time. They were originally installed for special effects. But up until a few days ago, the school had banned their use. We've never been able to use it until now."

I eyed the control, "That's nice to know."

After the entirety of the laughing students had recovered, Angeal resumed audition of the roles… I had suspected that only Genesis and I were going to be the only ones in the play, but I was wrong. I seem to be wrong a lot these past few months… and it was annoying the hell out of me!

Anyways… Sephiroth ended up dragging the rest of our gang to the auditorium for auditions, before getting in line himself. Don't give me that look. Teachers can be in the play too, you know.

I guess you can say that all of us got major rolls… Here's the cast:

Alice's New Life in Wonderland: Directed by Angeal Hewley

Alice Liddell: Maigen Tsurugi (yep! That's me!)

Mad Hatter (Joshua Blood aka Night Liddell): Zack Fair

March Hare (Atticus March): Cloud Strife

Cheshire Cat (Cheshire Villers): Kadaj Angelus and Yazoo Angelus

Dormouse (Pierce Villers): Loz Angelus

White Rabbit (Grim White): Weiss Schiffer

Queen of Hearts (Vivian Gatonus): Adiana Perez

King of Hearts (Helios Sol): Reno Lea Destler

Knight/Knave of Hearts (Ace Spades): Genesis Rhapsodos

Tweedle Dee (Dee Keepers): Terra Tresdecem (a friend that was with me since I was a baby… Zack took Terra's place when we were doing introductions in periods 9 and 10.)

Tweedle Dum (Dum Keepers): Ignis Tresdecem (same thing except Cloud took his place. This means that Terra and Ignis were the two childhood friends in the little History embarrassment act. My mother just had to film Terra, Ignis, and I in the bath didn't she.)

Dutchess (Mary Gowland): Barbara Goltank (Adiana's worst enemy… she has a boyfriend already, so she's not important to the story!)

Time (Nox Chrono): Sephiroth Angelus

Caterpillar (Absolom Chain): Tseng _Camui_ (Yes, I'm still not over that)

Lizard (Kuro Rings): Nero Schiffer

Joker (Jack Nightray): Vincent Valentine

On the car ride home, I stared at Angeal, "Did you by any chance read my Heart-no-kuni-no-Kiss manga?"

Angeal stared right back. "I did. I thought it was called 'Alice in the Land of Hearts'."

I stared at the cast list again. "This play isn't based off the manga is it?"

Angeal shrugged, "I have no imagination, Maigen. You should know that."

I sighed, "Please don't tell me that it's a harem."

Angeal remained silent. My eyes widened. "Oh s*^!"

It came as a shocker and some sort of horror to me, but it spiced up my day because that night was boring. I thank Genesis, Angeal, and Tseng for not giving me homework to do over the day off. That night… I introduced Angeal to some new recipes that my mother taught me before she died. I have got to say. Angeal learns quickly. He got the recipe for my mom's pasta in one try… with me giving him instructions of course. We also tried to make several new dishes from my big brother's cookbooks. I guess dinner was pretty big tonight.

After dinner, I went up to my room to make the funeral invitation list. I guess 200 people was overdoing it, but many loved my family. Even though they weren't related. Mr. Long got back to me on inviting some people from Rooster Teeth. They agreed to come, even though they didn't know us. Nice people, right?

I sent out invites to relatives overseas, too. I guess my uncles and aunts overseas loved us more than the relatives over here. They replied immediately. They were coming over next week. I also sent them an email explaining Genesis and the others… they thought it was pretty strange that grown men were living with me… I got them to chat on Skype with Angeal, Rufus, Tseng, and Sephiroth… they let it go with a warning: DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MAIGEN.

After sending out invitations via email and getting responses that they'll be attending from every invite, I called Mr. Long over the day off the list the people and who was attending. Funeral arrangements are depressing. Now that all that was finished, all there was left to do was to attend the funeral.

**%)&^)*&$%*^#*^%$#(%^$)&*%^&(^#$%%^*$^*$)&*^&(^$^%#$&%#(%&$)&*%^&$%^#$%&$%#^&%)*&^*&%^#$%*$^(^&%)&*^*)&%^**

**Bane: Writers block sucks!**

**Readers: I agree! It makes you update slower!**

**Bane: and it prevents me from giving more effort on the sequel.**

**Readers: At least you're giving us a sequel!**

**Genesis: But I hate how this story turns out in the end…**

**Bane: shhhhh don't give them spoilers**

**Zack: At least she told us what'll happen…**

**Bane: I said shhhhh!**

**Sephiroth: Calm down.**

**Bane: Fine. Just so the readers know, the end of this story is depressing…**

**Angeal: I thought you said no spoilers.**

**Bane: that isn't a spoiler. It's how I felt while writing it!**

**Reno: bull!**

**Bane: anyways. Please review.**

**^)&*^(&^%^*#%&^*$)*&%(*&^%$^%*#$%&*W%^$(^%*&^%$)*&$%^*%#$%&*%^$E)*^%)*&%^&($&%$W$RFB&^%(&^%#*^%$)E*^%)*&%**

**Well, I've got tennis soon, so see you!**


	22. Chapter XX: An Embarrassing Funeral

**Chapter XX: An embarrassing funeral!**

**^%(*^%)&%&^$%^#(%^$^%&)*%^#$%&#(%$)&^(%*&^%$$%#$^^$&%$(^&^&*%^%#$%$^%(^&&()*^%&$$%#$&%#*(&^%&*%&^*#%**

November 13, 2010

Over the past two weeks, I can say that I've had more fun than I did, before my parents died. The guys were all chick magnets… Reno got cornered by a bunch of girls, namely, Jade and her gang of whores. Adiana had to save his life… I'm actually surprised that they had it in them to teach a bunch of disrespecting teenagers. Of course, I'm not going to include Adiana and myself into that calculation… People like us are considered the extremely strange group. Alice rehearsals are going great. I fainted twice during the SOLDIER training…

You know how rumors start? I certainly don't. Apparently, since I am acquainted with all the new people in school, it caught everyone's interest. They don't believe the story about some of us being family and childhood friends. So, they made random stories up. *laughs. Onwards? Here's one. Someone thought that I was from a noble family in China or Japan, and because of that, I have suitors from other countries. When my family died, the suitors immediately came to the US to court me in hopes that I would let them help me continue the family name. It's ridiculous, right?

Anyways… onward!

I hate funerals so much. The depressing air always unsettled me. I only ever broke down at a funeral once and that was when my grandfather died. After all, my grandfather did raise me when I was a child. So I guess funerals did bring back memories of the good old days.

I knew that one day, I'd attend my parents' funeral and my eldest brother's and if I'm lucky, my little brother would attend mine. But these wishes will never happen. Today I will attend my family's funeral.

I didn't like dresses, but Genesis insisted that I dress in more girly clothing for the funeral. So here I am sitting in the Acura squished between Sephiroth and Genesis, dressed in a white kimono… It was either this or a black gothic Lolita dress. I still can't imagine Genesis trying to get me to wear something like that.

Anyways… the car ride wasn't silent at all. The characters each had their own cell phones now. Any of them that already did have a cell found that their cell phones could call people in this world, but not theirs. Rufus had the brilliant idea of making sure we could stay in touch with each other. So now, I have all their cell numbers on my phone.

So, back to the not-so-quiet car ride to the funeral home. Rude was driving the car. He was pretty silent the whole time. Rufus was in the passenger seat, talking on his cell phone about something school related. I found that being a principal was easier than being the president of Shinra for Rufus. 'Children were far easier to control than adults' Rufus had said to me when I questioned why he didn't seem as stressed as when he was in the game.

I guess living this life was, for them, easy. There were no SOLDIER, Turk, AVALANCHE, or Shinra duties to complete. That was an easy life for them. I guess having lived this kind of style all my 14 years I had found the need to strive for something more than this.

But then again, my life wasn't exactly normal before this anyways. My mother was very… bossy and mood-swingy. It was very hard living with her constant 'fuck this, fuck that…' rants. All she did was curse. 24/7. That was all she did. She'd want everything done her way. If it were not done her way, she'd throw complaints, insults, and very, very low blows. I remember that she got pissed at me because I thought that the detergent was bleach, when it was both combined. I didn't add it into the laundry. When my mother found out, she threw a fit and started cursing non-stop… Then she decided to turn onto the topic of my piano lessons. Is it wrong to try to save her money with the lessons and ask my friends to teach me, or the teachers in school while I try to teach myself how to play the pieces? She thinks that I won't be able to do anything if I don't pay for a teacher… That's an old fashioned way of thinking. Of course, I didn't tell her that, since she'll give me whiplash… It's like living with a hormonic, OCD, moody, Cid Highwind… I don't know how I survived all these years… Oh and then, she threatens to sell my piano.

My dad is like a wheel of issues too. He just sits most of the time while my mother yells at my siblings and I. Except the time where he saved my piano from getting broken to pieces…

My brothers are… boys, immature and single-minded.

They all care, but then again. Story of my life… Anyways. Add the generation and family wars to those problems, and you've got my wretched life in a nutshell. (Don't pity me)

Back with the car ride, I had Zack call me as soon as we jumped into different cars. I swear it was endless babbling! I have that and Genesis quoting random pieces of LOVELESS at me. Then, Sephiroth blew a gasket at Genesis about two minutes into the ride and now they won't stop bickering about it! Sephiroth's telling Genesis to stop quoting (which for me is impossible for him… he did not go one scene in Crisis Core without quoting something from LOVELESS.) Genesis, meanwhile, tried to convince Sephiroth that LOVELESS was a beautiful form of literature and how they all fit the roles perfectly.

After I hung up on Zack, Kadaj called me. It's really bothersome. I'm beginning to regret giving them my number.

Due to Kadaj's pestering, I had to give him a copy of the guest list, all 200 names. So when he called me, it was to question me on the family members.

"Who's Ivan?" he asked through the phone.

I huffed, "He's my mom's second cousin. He lives in Hong Kong. What number are we on anyways? We're almost to the funeral home."

"Uh. Number 187 and it's just a few more!" Kadaj urged.

By this time, I had one ear to the phone while the other had an earphone in it. "Fine. But if I don't want to answer, I'll start singing."

"That's fine by me. Who's…"

It went like that the whole time with Kadaj. About 5 minutes later, we arrived at the funeral home… I don't know the name of it.

We all got out of the cars in the parking lot and began to walk into the funeral home. It was as big as the last time I saw it. When I walked in, they had begun to arrange the seating. I guess you can call it a traditional Asian funeral by standards.

In American funerals, people aren't allowed to wear white or ay bright colors. In Asian culture, white is the color of death. Immediate family wore white, while others wore grey or black. That was why I was a white kimono.

The gang was seated with me in the immediate family section on my request. I was in no way sitting alone with my grandparents and Spencer's father, stepmother, my other half-brother, and Spencer's little half-sister. I forgot to mention that Spencer was only related to me through my mother because of her previous marriage. But that doesn't matter. I still think of him as my immediate brother. I didn't invite my father's immediate family for obvious reasons. But I did have the courtesy to invite my grandmother on my father's side. I guess you can say that I didn't enjoy my father's side very much.

My mother's family on the other hand, excluding my uncle's wife, Amy, they were the best. My Uncle Jacob was the best uncle in the world. I found that my cousin Nick was the best company I could have in that family.

Enough background information for now, at about 11am, almost everyone had arrived and bowed to pay their respects. There were so many sympathetic looks, I think I would've hurled. No really. The looks were for both my deceased family and me. I guess there is only one thing to say. Pity the living, not the dead. But then again, I didn't want pity. I had all I wanted already.

My family's friends had come up to greet me. I had an appreciative smile on my face as I sat between Sephiroth and Genesis. Zack sat behind me with Cloud and Kadaj. Loz was also there, but he held my hand reassuringly.

The funeral started at 12pm sharp. I got up from my seat with Vincent and walked up to the dual pianos at the front of the room next to the coffins. I spared a glance at my mother, father, and brothers. They did a nice job. They didn't look like they were shot to death. They looked peaceful, like they had died without a struggle in their sleep.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I tried to hold the tears back, but they started spilling. Luckily for me, Genesis had gotten up to tow me away from the coffins and to where Vincent sat. I sat at the black grand piano with Vincent on the other piano and waited for Genesis to take the violin that I had brought with us.

I took hold of the microphone, "I thank you all for coming today. I believe that my mother, father, and brothers would be extremely happy that all of you took the time to come here today. This funeral has been held off for too long. I've never done this before, so would you all pleas take a look at the first page of your packet. On it, are the lyrics to a song that I played for my parents on their anniversary, it's a song called Last Song by Gackt. I'd like for you all to attempt to sing this song with me." I repeated it over in Japanese, Chinese, German, Irish, Italian, and French before I bowed and took the seat at the piano again and started playing.

I finished the last few measures of the song, and watched as my tears flowed freely only to drip onto the piano keys. I grabbed hold of the microphone again and this time spoke without facing the crowd. "I never thought that I would have to play this song at their funeral too. My mother and father always told me that they weren't going to leave me until I had children. Spencer was supposed to open a restaurant and have a family. Nigel was supposed to die after I did. It was supposed to be the other way around." I rubbed my eyes in vain to stop the tears. "I have to make a eulogy, but I can't. I can't accept that their gone so fast."

Vincent stood up from the piano stool and put a hand on my shoulder. "Then talk about the happy memories."

So I did. I talked about the times where my family and I had fun. When we went out to eat at really nice restaurants, then to the times where I'd have a problem with homework and how my family helped me. The times where we messed around and the random awkward moments we shared together. I talked about these things and I saw a few smiles appear on the faces that were involved in the stories that I told.

Soon, I started to smile, too.

But that and all those smiles soon vanished entirely when Uncle Ellis burst into the room with my other uncles and aunts and cousins in the immediate family. This was the Chinese only side of the family. The Changs. That's why I had my mother's last name. Tsurugi.

With them was my grandmother. I glared at her in betrayal.

"How dare you not invite us!" Uncle Ellis yelled furiously.

Aunt Aris walked up to me and slapped me hard causing me to fall to my knees. "You invite those strangers to this funeral, but not us!"

Everyone had stared in shock and anger when they burst into the room. I was in shock that they'd raise a hand on me in a funeral with many witnesses.

Kadaj had jumped out of his seat to help me as soon as that bitch of an aunt slapped me. "You will not raise a hand to little sister!"

My guests all cried in outrage (beware. These comments were in Chinese and other languages. I have translated them to save space):

"How dare you lay a hand on her!" My real godfather

"Daddy! That lady hit big sis!" my second cousin, Haley. (It is common to call an older cousin big sis)

"Down with the bloody big head!" Er… Zack, whom I made watch Tim Burton's Alice.

At the time this uproar began, I was still staring at the floor, my cheek stinging. _She had HIT me._ Slowly, I got up from the floor. This funeral was not going to be a disaster because of some low-class assholes. My family deserved to have peace at their funeral.

I slowly stalked up to the Changs and immediately punched Uncle Ellis in the jaw. The others tried to help him, but some of the attendants to the funeral closest rose from their seats to restrain them. My eyes blazed with anger. "You will NOT disturb this funeral!"

Reno whistled, "That was one hell of a punch."

Uncle Ellis glared at me like the rest of the Changs did. "You will learn to respect your elders." Raising his own fist, he brought it down as if he was going to punch my face in.

I flinched and raised my arms in defense, but it wasn't really needed. Sephiroth caught his hand before it could reach me. "I suggest you leave her alone, sir."

Aunt Falti glared at Sephiroth, "We do what we want with her." She held up a piece of paper, "After all, we own her and her family's money now."

Sephiroth snatched the paper away from her and read it before replying, "She's lying. This was a pathetic excuse for a bluff. Our plan worked, Maigen." He handed the paper to me:

Dear Chang family,

In reply to your previous letters, I must ask that you no longer send these letters to us. Your letters discuss the transaction of one of our client's bank account into your own name. Maigen _Ch__ang_ does not exist. Also, whoever they are, we are under no jurisdiction to hand their money over to you. Regarding the surname Tsurugi, you have no right to request a transfer of cash to your own, even if the person you mentioned is related to you. About a week ago, a proxy to the last member of the Tsurugi called and requested that Miss. Tsurugi's bank account can only be organized through several specific people. These people go by the names:

Mr. Sephiroth Angelus

Mr. Rufus Shinra

Mr. Genesis Rhapsodos

Mr. Angeal Hewley

Mr. Tseng Camui

And Miss. Tsurugi herself

We have also received a warning from this proxy that should anyone by the name of Chang, wish to 'lay their hands' on their client's money, we were to inform them and to call officials should they attempt to access Miss. Tsurugi's bank account. If you write to us once more, we shall inform officials. We shall also have you informed that you are to stay about 400 yards away from our client, Maigen Tsurugi.

You have been warned,

Mr. Ethan Thesis

I smiled at the signature at the end. Mr. Thesis sure did mean that he'd take care of everything if I gave him all the information he needed. I pocketed the letter and resumed to glare at the Changs. "Call security. I want them all escorted out of here." My voice took on a superior tone, "You violated the restraining order that I requested. Leave now."

With one last glare, the Changs left, my grandmother in tow, with a regretful look on her face. I meet that face coldly. I spoke in Cantonese. "I shall no longer associate myself with your pitiful family. Your eldest son is a money-loving, disgraceful, asshole. Your daughter is a worthless bitch. You never saw this in them. You were always against us! So get away from me. I'm sick of looking at your faces."

After security escorted them out, I sighed and shook my head. "This is a disaster. I give my grandmother a chance and she ruins it in front of my parent's coffins." I slowly stalked back to the grand piano, nursing my swollen cheek. I was still human after all. I picked up the microphone. "I apologize about the interruption. I guess I really have nothing to say. So I'd like to ask for immediate family members to come up and to pay last respects to my family."

My mother's family came up and we hugged. By now, we were all crying. The gang looked slightly uncomfortable. When it was time for us to leave, I had red and puffy eyes. I was tired, but I held on until after lunch at Momofuku… (It's a great place in New York that's always crowded. You can't even make reservations.) It was good, but my mind was elsewhere.

On the ride home, I felt my eyes droop. I yawned, "I'm so tired."

Rufus chuckled, "Then you should take a nap."

I nodded, "I will, but I have no place to lay my head and I don't want to get a neck cramp."

Genesis sighed and pulled his LOVELESS out before literally grabbing hold of my head and gently laying it on his shoulder. "_There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the goddess…_" That was all he needed to read as I soon fell asleep.

"_They shall all return by next July. Be prepared to say goodbye. Remember, the rule that you've always followed."_

_Of course I knew. The Assassins in Assassins Creed all lived by this rule: 'Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.' Am I right to assume that it's you, Minerva?_

"_Yes little one. It is I."_

_I guess I knew that I was going to have to say goodbye to them anyways._

"_Then I hope that you have not become attached to the fated. You will only end up hurt in the end."_

Sunday, November 14, 2010

I sat up and rubbed my eyes clear of sleep. Light snoring filled the room. I stared at the figure to my left and gently smiled. Genesis slept soundly by my side. Weiss was on the air mattress without his shirt on like usual. They didn't leave yet, so that was good.

But like a song that repeats itself, Minerva's warning echoed through my mind. I brought my knees to my chest and buried my head into them. _I don't want them to leave. I wouldn't know what to do with out them._

I glanced at the clock and sighed. It was only 3 am. Shrugging, I settled back into bed and snuggled up to Genesis for his body heat. I swear that's it!

^%^&($%^#&$%#*^&%(^&$%^&#&$%#*%&$(^&%&^*$%&#*%^$(^&(^&%$*%^#&$%#E(&%^$^&($%^#$%^&(%)&*%^&$&%^#&%^$^*&^%(&$^%#(^&%(&*%^&$&%

When I woke up next, it was around 7 am. We did the usual routine. Wake up, brush teeth, make the bed, eat breakfast, and try to annoy Sephiroth… Okay. That last one wasn't quite normal I have to admit, but it was fun, especially on my little brother's birthday. He loved pranks, so I guess this is kind of like the birthday that he'd die for (no pun intended).

At about 4pm, we drove back to Brooklyn for the cremation.

Stepping into the funeral home, I sighed, "Let's get this depression over with." Walking over to Nigel's coffin, I began to sing 'Happy Birthday'

It was quite creepy because when do you see a girl singing 'Happy Birthday' to a corpse?

When everyone had arrived, we began the cremation ceremony. Taking the ash jars, I separated the ashes for our relatives to take with them. This was from my earlier request that they spread the ashes in special places, while some of the ashes stayed at home.

We all had dinner at a grand restaurant… I don't know where it is though…

The tables sat about 20 people each. I sat with the guys, my cousins Nick, Bryam, and Ritz, and my Aunt Amy and my Uncle Jacob. Okay, it wasn't exactly 20 people, but 21 is pretty close. Relatives and friends came over to greet the guys and to send condolences to me.

But soon, the funeral was forgotten. It was my little brother's birthday and I wasn't going to be in a depressed mood. We were all laughing, sharing old stories.

My cousin, Nick, chuckled, "When Maigen was little, about 3 years old, she slept over at my house and we'd play games. That night, she got a nightmare and since we lived right next to each other in Harrison, she had to go home. But then, she got a nightmare at her house and had to come back to mine."

"Yeah. I remember the nightmare vividly. I was walking down some sort of hallway and all of a sudden, all the lights went off. I remembered that I hated the dark, so in my dream, I ran down the hallway, tripping over random stuff." I squeaked out, surprised that he'd bring the nightmare up.

"So what happened after that?" Zack inquired, while eating his steak.

I sent a pleading look towards Nick, but he went on. "I don't know. She started screaming, 'Get off of me! Please stop! I don't want to! No! Anything but that! I don't want to die! I'm too young! Ahhhhh clown!' I woke her up after that line. When she woke up, she sighed and said, 'Phew. I'm not in a clown suit."

Everyone laughed or smirked except Kadaj and I. Kadaj quirked his head to the left. "What's so funny about little sister getting scared?"

Genesis wiped a tear, "Her reaction was cute. So, what were you dreaming about?"

"I was trapped in a circus and they were going to make me their star performing clown." I grumbled, crossing my arms.

Rufus cocked his head to the side in wonder. "You were scared of a circus performer?"

I glared half-heartedly, "It's not like you've ever encountered those things."

Bryam, my second youngest boy cousin butted in. "But clowns are people too!"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, but they used to scared the frag out of me."

"You know what'll scare you more?" Reno asked snidely.

I shrugged, "What?"

Nero also shrugged. "Your baby videos."

I froze, "You all watched them? When?"

"When you passed out after the first day back to school." Tseng replied nonchalantly.

I groaned and began to pound my head repeatedly against the table, careful to avoid the plate in front of me. "Somebody kill me."

Genesis chuckled, "I thought that you singing was cute."

I lifted my head, "And what, pray tell, was the song?"

They all shrugged, but Genesis continued to grin. Then, he started to sing in his beautiful voice that sounded so much like Gackt's.

I smacked my head even harder. He sang 'Dears' perfectly. "And if I remember correctly, you were singing **and** doing flips."

Zack nodded, "Oh yeah! I remembered that! It was really cute!"

Yazoo scoffed, "To you, yes. To me, it was ridiculous, stupid, and just plain repulsive."

That was what happened that night as far as I was concerned. I would have died from embarrassment if Kadaj had not comfort me in the end. I would have thought that Yazoo would have warmed up to me by now. I guess I cannot befriend all of them.

That night, I came home red in the face and very tired. The next day was school, so we all needed the shuteye.

**^%)*&%*&^$^%$(^&%(*&^*&#^)($*&)#(*)^#%)&*)^%(#*)^)#*%^)*%^)(%*^#)(*^)(*^)(#*%^%)*#^%)(*^)#(*^%#)(*#^%*#^#&*^%#***

**Bane: I've written the first chapter for the sequel!**

**Genesis: Yes, but it's a shame that we won't be able to do this little omake segment for the sequel.**

**Readers: Why?**

**Zack: It's because we f- Mphf**

**Angeal: (*slapped a hand over Zack's mouth) It's a secret.**

**Bane: Maigen's going to get a new mission.**

**Readers: Then hurry up and finish this story so that you can post the other one up!**

**Bane: Fine, fine. (*hurries to write more)**

**Sephiroth: (*catches her by the collar) You can write after your tennis practice.**

**Bane: TT^TT I hate running laps sooo much!**

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**Thank you to the following for reviewing!**

**Ty-Lea Rose Yuko: Depressing endings suck, yes, but I sent you a private message right?**

**Bibliotaku748: Yes… Now there's hatred between the Queen of Hearts and the Dutchess! XP**

**Kurina the Imiko: If I'm correct, this is your first review. To welcome! Lol, yeah… I'm already writing the sequel so no need to fret. I'll probably launch it on Maigen's birthday. I've never had Red Bull before, but I get really hyper on sugar alone! XD**

**Exemia: Hurray for your first time reviewing this story! Thanks for following this whole time! My recent obsession has been 'Heart-no-kuni-no-Alice' and it's bad ass! Who's your favorite character?**** Mine's Ace. The yandere, psycho! I have really weird taste… I've only read the manga. Don't worry. Vincent's hair will be back at the end of the year! He'll still have his hair in the sequel! I'll keep writing if you keep writing!**

**Until the next update!**


	23. Chapter XXI: Holiday Fun & Nightmares

**Chapter XXI: Holiday Fun&Nightmares**

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Thanksgiving of 2010

You didn't seriously think that I'd skip on writing this right? No. I bet you did. Anyways, after the funeral, there was seriously nothing to do. Genesis's test gave me headaches and Sephiroth ran us to the ground with his training. They were all used to it, but I have never ever trained that hard in my life. I was often too tired to play the flute the next period.

Angeal was easy on us, but he was strict and proud of it. Some of you may be wondering, 'Did Angeal give you the honor talk, yet?' To that question, I'll have to say this:

OF COURSE HE DID! EVERY SINGLE DAY! 'REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS MAIGEN AND NO MATTER WHAT, PROTECT YOUR PRIDE! EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A SOLDIER, YOU HAVE THINGS TO PROTECT. DO ANYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO PROTECT IT'. THAT'S THE SAME TALK HE GIVES ME!

*Heavy breathes… Huff. Sorry, I go a little berserk when the honor talk is mentioned. I feel bad for anyone who has to listen to it over and over again. So I'm feeling sorry for everyone.

Haha. Well, do you all remember the rumor about me being a noblewoman and the gang being my suitors? We decided to play along! You should've seen everyone's faces. Here's a recap from about a week ago:

_I sat in my seat while reading over the script for the Alice play. The play would be about 2 to 3 hours long if we include breaks and stuff. I waited as the others rehearsed their lines._

"_I won't let you have her, Hatter!" yelled Adiana, whom played the role of the Queen._

_Zack, aka the Mad Hatter, laughed. "Take her? She belongs to me." He pulled me close and grabbed my face. "Don't you see the resemblance?"_

_I smacked Zack in the chest, "Let go of me, Night!"_

_Zack clicked his tongue and wagged his finger at me. "Tsk, Tsk, Alice. I'm Joshua now, not your pathetic twin brother."_

_I began to get into character at this point. Tearing and sniffling, I gave him the innocent kicked puppy look. "How-…"_

_Zack never gave me time to finish. His arms had enveloped me in a tight embrace. "Ohhhh I can't stand it anymore!" His lip had begun to tremble. "I can't play this role! The character keeps making you cry!"_

_We all sweatdropped at Zack's sensitivity to my character's and therefore, my own feelings. Angeal stared at the school roster and the sign up sheet then back up at us. "Zack. This is only a play. You're not actually hurting Maigen's feelings. Also, Maigen? Your name's different on both of these documents."_

_I shrugged, "Maigen Tsurugi is the name my parents gave me so that I have no relation to my other two families. Maigen Ng is the name on my birth certificate. It implies that I'm related to the Ng family. By American standard, that is a pretty common Chinese name. Karen Wong and Bobby Ng are my parent's real names. But we use Tsurugi as a form of independence. So my real name is Maigen Tsurugi not Maigen Ng." Nodding, Angeal corrected the documents._

_Genesis turned to us. "Have you all heard of the rumor going around about us being noblemen from other countries that came to court Maigen, who is also a noble from Japan?"_

_Weiss snorted in laughter, "Who would want to marry Maigen?"_

_Walking towards the end of the stage, I glared at him, "I resent that!"_

_Genesis stayed quiet for a while. Shaking his head, he spoke again. "How would you all feel if we went along with that story?"_

_I fell off the stage in surprise. "WHAT?"_

_Angeal massaged his temple. "Genesis, now is really not the time for your stupid ideas."_

_Genesis glowered, "They're not stupid. Besides, it'll get us ready for the haremness of the play." Before Angeal could open his mouth to retort or correct Genesis about the made-up word, Genesis opened his mouth again. "And yes. I made up a word. I don't care."_

_Sephiroth snorted, "Ironic, since you teach English."_

Okay… so maybe we didn't really go along with it. It was a suggestion, albeit not a good one. I have yet to forgive Weiss for stating that no one would want to marry me. But, then again, marriage is the last thing on my mind right now.

Thanksgiving is a mess. Reluctantly, my grandmother on the Tang side of the family had invited me to dinner with them. I had politely refused… then proceeded to curse them all out when my aunt snatched the phone from my grandmother. So here I am now:

My eyes were transfixed. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was so large and slippery… I moved to grab it, but it slipped from my grasp and fell from the counter to slide on the floor. "Damn it! It fell again!" I yelled in frustration.

Angeal and I were trying to prepare the turkey for dinner tonight, but nothing was working for us. The thing kept sliding around the kitchen! At that point, I had half a mind to take my knives and pin it to the counter, but then I'd have to fix it. Reno taunted us with each failure.

"Dude. You're a First Class SOLDIER. You can't even handle stuffing a turkey?"

This was Angeal's face (-_-")

This was mine..

Angeal got down to pick up the turkey calmly… until he promptly chucked it out the open window.

"THAT'S IT! WE'RE NOT MAKING TURKEY ANYMORE! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" He roared glaring as the turkey rolled down the street and out of our sight.

I did not pay attention to his rant. Instead, I patiently began to prepare gnocchi with mushroom sauce, polenta with… I stopped in mid-thought when I heard a _buzz_ sound near my right ear. I turned to find this huge beetle looking thing staring at me from my shoulder. I screamed, "Ahhhhhh!"

Jumping around, I tried to get it off of my shoulder. "GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!" I yelled, flailing my arms around to try to swat the bug off.

"What's going on?" Rufus ran in, carrying his handy shotgun.

I continued to flail as the others pointed at my back. Rufus's eye twitched when Zack came running up to me with a bug swatter. He hit my back repeatedly before declaring, "Okay. It's dead!"

I risked a glance at the back of my shirt before whimpering, "It's splattered all over the back of my shirt."

Sure enough, green blood marred the back of my sweater. Disgusted, I discarded the fact that I was in a house full of guys and took the shirt off to burn in the home incinerator. All that was left was my tank top and my bra. You didn't think I'd wear nothing but a bra under the sweater right? Please, you should all know me by now.

Everyone stared at me. I frowned as I placed the shirt inside the incinerator. "What?"

Yazoo snickered, "You finally lost weight."

I glowered, "I take offense to that!"

Kadaj rubbed his chin slightly in thought. Then, as if a light bulb went off in his head, he pointed at me. "You shouldn't take your shirt off in front of a group of men, little sister."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, big brother. So, I'm going to continue preparing dinner."

I paused mid-step when I noticed that most of the guys were going to walk away to do their own thing. I pointed at Angeal and glared. "You're the one who threw the turkey out, so you're helping me." I then pointed at Reno. "You're the one who laughed and made fun of our attempts. So, since you think you're so great, you'll peel the potatoes for the gnocchi batter."

Reno immediately began to protest, "Wha-…"

Zack and Cloud began to laugh at his misfortune, so I pointed at them too. "You two will help him because you insist to copy his behavior."

Both of them began to groan in defeat. The others were smart enough not to anger me further. I left them all be as I returned to prepare dinner in the kitchen.

"So, what are we making, Maigen?" Angeal questioned.

I stopped cleaning the mushrooms to glance in his direction. "Gnocchi with mushroom sauce, asparagus and cauliflower, oden, and a hot pot. I changed my mind. We are not doing polenta. It's too much work to make."

"What's oden?" Reno called out, careful not to skin himself.

Meanwhile, Zack began to cheer with Cloud, Kadaj, and Loz. "Hot pot, hot pot, hot pot!"

I began to de-stem the mushrooms. "It's a Japanese winter dish. It has konnyaku, known as devil's tongue in the US, daikon radish, naruto-…"

"Naruto? You mean the anime you like to watch?" Weiss inquired with a quirk of his head. He had been listening to our conversation.

"No." I denied. "It's a type of fish cake that you can also add to ramen."

"Oh." That was the only response that I received from dear, dear Weiss. (Lol take that! A quote from Dirge of Cerberus! XP)

"Anyways, there's also atsuage aka deep fried tofu, aburaage aka deep fried tofu pouches with mochi skin inside, tsukune aka fish or beef balls, and chikuwabu aka gluten tubes. They're all boiled in dashi broth. My mother made all the time before she died." Okay. Obviously, I had yet to get over their deaths.

Things began to quiet down after that. Everyone went off to do something as we stayed in the kitchen to cook dinner. I yelled out instructions to everyone as we cooked.

I heard the _clang_ of swords down in the basement as I set the table. I had half a mind to join the spar between the SOLDIERs, but I knew that I wasn't on the level of SOLDIER yet. I don't think I will ever be able to compete with them. Heck. I wouldn't even stand a chance against a Turk! If I went against Cloud as he is now, I might win. But still. There is no doubt in my mind that I'd be able to last 5 minutes against a Turk and barely a minute with a SOLDIER.

Another _clang_ was heard and I winced. Being normal sucks.

"Dinner's ready!" I called out when I finished setting the table.

Almost immediately, 15 hungry men rushed to the table to get a seat. I laughed when Loz and Zack fought over the seat next to the hot pot. I took the seat as they continued to argue and coughed for their attention.

Both looked down dejectedly, "Aw man."

I smiled and gestured to the two seats next to me, "If you can't have the closest, you can have the second closest." Both immediately claimed the seats. I sat directly across from Genesis and Sephiroth. Then, I noticed it. Chuckling, I gestured at the seating. "All the kids on one side, huh?"

Indeed, all the teens sat on my side of the table, while the adults sat on the other.

Angeal cleared his throat. "I'll start off with what I'm thankful for."

If this were an anime, there would be a sweatdrop on my head right now. "It's not really necessary, Angeal. People only do that when they want to."

"It's called 'Thanksgiving' right?" he questioned me.

I sighed, "Yes."

"Then we have to do it. No buts." He finalized.

I pouted, "Only because you're my teacher and my guest."

"Good. I'm thankful to Maigen for her hospitality towards us all." He proclaimed.

"I guess I'll go next." Sephiroth stated dully. "I'm thankful to have met a willing student such as Maigen and for her hospitality."

"I'm thankful for the hospitality in this world, the food, and that the goddess has been so kind as to teleport me here with my LOVELESS book." Genesis exclaimed.

Rufus straightened in his chair. "I'm thankful for Maigen's hospitality and a chance to work as an educator in this world."

Tseng was silent at first, but he eventually said, "I'm thankful to Maigen."

Okay… you can imagine how that went from there… I don't need to repeat what all of them said. It's already embarrassing when most of them say that they're thankful to me… Albeit some more reluctant than others… **cough, cough, Yazoo, cough, cough**.

You must be wondering what I was thankful for. Here:

_I stood up to face everyone. "I'm thankful to Minerva for giving me this task. Without it, I would've gone crazy from being an autophobic. I thank each and every one of you for tolerating me and for acknowledging me." I smiled brightly and sat down._

After dinner, we all went to bed at about 1am. They all went to sleep before that, so I took the time to block anything related to Final Fantasy or Square Enix in the computer. Sephiroth will not go crazy in this world as long as I have the power to stop it.

*(^(&*$^%#(^&%_&()^(^&*$*^%$#(&^%_(&%)*^(&$*%^#(^&%_(*^*&%&*%$)*&%_(*^*&$^*%^#(^&%*(^%%(*^$*&^$)&*)^)*&^%$^%$^&^_)(&^&*^$%&$#^(&Y_(&)&

Christmas Eve 2010

I woke up that morning to a chill in the house. The spot next to me was empty and the air mattress was neatly folded up next to the bed. It struck me as weird. Where was everyone? We didn't have school as far as I was concerned. So where was everyone?

I got out of bed to use the bathroom before going downstairs to see if anyone was home.

(5 minutes later… this is still awkward no matter how many times I say it)

When I had reached the last of the steps I froze in my tracks. "Where are you all going?"

Everyone was dressed and ready to leave the house. Yazoo spoke up, "We're going to New York for the next few days. You can't come with us since you're sick."

"Tsk. I'm not sick. You call this sick?" I gestured to myself in an attempt to convince them, until I began to cough uncontrollably. I received pitying looks from them all when I almost fell off the step I was standing on. I felt miserable when I had to admit that they were right. I pointed to the door sternly. "Go, I won't stop you all from having fun. I'll stay home. Just make sure you all enjoy yourselves."

"If you don't want us to go…" Zack trailed off.

"Just go!" I snapped before collapsing into another coughing fit.

Just like that, all of them left. No second glance back is what I'd like to think. I got up from the platform on the stairs and slowly limped into the kitchen to make some chicken noodle soup. I popped some cough medicine into my mouth before hand to calm my cough down a little. My throat hurt and stung whenever I swallowed.

I lit the fireplace and sat on the couch in front of it, wrapped in a thick blanket, while drinking my soup. My eyes were glazed over with unshed tears when I realized that I would be spending this Christmas alone. I blinked as the tears cascaded down my cheeks. "First Christmas alone, but not really alone spiritually. Right, guys?" I questioned as I glanced up at the portraits and ashes of my family.

Coughing, coughing, couching, and more coughing. That's what I seemed to be doing for the past few hours alone. I felt sleepy and I knew that it wasn't from the cough medicine. Maybe I needed some rest. Yes, that was it. All the crying had gotten to my head. Snuggling deeper into the blankets, I fell asleep.

But I didn't know that I wasn't going to wake up the next morning, or the next.

)#%*(#%*&_#%^)%^_(%&#_(*^#%_(*#^%_(*#%&)(%&(%^_##_%*(^#_%#&%()#^%_(#*%&^_#(*^%_(#*%^&#_(%&_*#%^_(*#%_(#*%^_)#(%&_(#*%^)*&#%^*(^*

Nobody's POV

By this time, everyone was sitting down in the middle of the hotel suite in New York. No one knew what day it was and no one knew that Maigen was more than sick. They were all doing their own thing.

Zack played table tennis with Cloud, Reno, and Kadaj. Angeal planned out lessons with the other teachers. They all worked even though it was vacation. It was December 26th and they were planning to return home at 12pm.

Picking up the phone, Angeal dialed Maigen's house number.

"_Hi! This is the Tsurugi residents-…"_

"Hey, Maigen. We're coming back today!" Angeal informed.

"_I'm sorry that we can't get to the phone right now. So please leave your name and number after the beep. We'll get back to you as soon as possible." Beep._

Angeal called again and again. Then he tried her cell phone.

"_This is Maigen. I can't get to the phone right now so please leave a message after the beep-… Hey, Wesker. Give me back the phone! Gah! Excella! Don't move!"_

_Another masculine voice entered the voicemail, "Is this thing on? Excella! I told you I hate AT&T! Huhhh. Greetings, you have reached Albert Wesker's cellular device. I am currently away on business. Business that does not concern you. If Chris has given you this number, I will deal with you shortly. If you are calling to confirm the date of launch for our final phase of… THE PLAN. Please dial 1-800-…"_

_**background pans and pots falling to the floor**_

_Maigen calls out from the background, "What did you do this time, Excella!"_

_The masculine voice speaks again. "Excella, do not touch that! God damn it, woman!"_

_Maigen's voice suddenly appears again. "At least you didn't drop my phone Wesker. Anyways, you all know the drill. Hope you liked the Resident Evil voice mail spoof." Beep_

His eyes widened and he dropped the phone in realization. "Guys. I think we should go back home now!"

Zack whined, "But I want to play some more!"

Sephiroth noticed the panic in Angeal's eyes. "What's wrong, Angeal?"

Genesis glanced at his companions from the top of LOVELESS. "Is there something wrong, Angeal?"

Angeal's eyes darkened. "Yes, there is something wrong. I called Maigen and she didn't even pick the phone up!"

"Maybe she's still sick." Yazoo offered, going back to his book.

Angeal shook his head. "I called about 5 times. She didn't pick any of them up. I even called her cell phone."

Cloud pondered for a moment. "She was sick when we left, right?"

All eyes turned to the door. "Crap!"

They all left the hotel with their things and sped all the way back to Jersey. They were lucky that each car had radars, or they'd all be caught by then. Arriving at home in record time, they pounded on the door and rang the doorbell. Maigen did not answer.

At last, Rufus opened the door with his keys and they all went in. Genesis was the first to rush to Maigen's side when they spotted her, scarcely breathing on the couch. The fire had gone out a long time ago.

Zack laid his hand on her forehead, but quickly withdrew it in alarm. "HOLY SHIT! She's burning up!"

Angeal ran into the room with a thermometer and promptly stuck it into Maigen's mouth. They waited for the little machine to beep before pulling it out of her mouth. Sephiroth immediately lifted her up, blanket and all, and walked out the door. "I can't believe we left our host when she was sick!"

Loz sobbed and collapsed onto the floor. "107 degrees Fahrenheit. She's not going to die, right?"

Kadaj gently picked him up off the floor and dragged him out of the house. "We're going to take her to the hospital, big brother. So let's hurry and get into the car. The sooner we can get her there, the faster she'll get better."

The drive was silent and when they reached the hospital, they remained silent until the doctor came out of Maigen's hospital room.

"Gentlemen. I'd like to speak with her guardian." The doctor had asked.

Rufus moved to stand up, but Sephiroth held up a hand. "I'll go."

Sephiroth and the doctor entered Maigen's hospital room. "I'll say this once. If you hadn't gotten home on time, Maigen could've gone into a coma and become brain dead. Her fever has lowered, but make sure she doesn't do much for the next week or so. Her condition doesn't need to be worsened. For future occurrences, don't leave her alone when she's sick."

Sephiroth nodded his head solemnly. "Of course."

The doctor wasn't done however. "You also shouldn't leave her by herself on Christmas. An orphan like her needs to be comforted on happy holidays. I suggest you make it up to her when she wakes up."

The doctor left, leaving Sephiroth speechless. He had read about this planet's holidays, but he didn't expect on of the biggest to have passed right under his nose. On Christmas, it's a time for family and happiness. People give each other gifts and if you're caught under a mistletoe, you had to kiss the person that was under it with you.

Sephiroth felt like a failure. He strolled over to where Maigen lay and gently took her hand in his, leaning to press his forehead to hers. "We should have never left for New York. I'm so sorry."

*#&+)%(&_%^_(^_#*%&+#)(%&(*^%#&%^#_(%^*#+)($%*+#_)$&)#*%^_#(%*^_#(*%&#+)(%&#_%*(^_#(*%^_(#*%^_#)(%&_(#*%^&_(#*%^_(%^_#%*^_#(%^(_^*

Maigen's POV

I didn't dream. That was one thing that I found peculiar about my rest this time. Noise evaded me and no light shone through. I remembered thinking _I need to wake up now._ Then, my wish was granted. I heard voices and sounds again. I began to feel again.

A large warm hand enveloped mine and I could feel long locks of hair on my face and I could feel a person's forehead to mine and their breath on my face. "We should have never left for New York. I'm so sorry." The person spoke.

I wondered who had spoken. It was not my father, nor my brothers. They were dead. I willed my eyes to open and I smiled weakly at the sight before me. "Don't be sorry, Seph."

Said silver haired general lifted his head to stare at me. "You're awake."

I smirked and glanced around, "I was only sleeping. You didn't need to take me to the hospital."

"You had a fever of 107 degrees Fahrenheit. It's the 26th, Maigen. You didn't wake up for two days." Sephiroth deadpanned.

My eyes widened before I latched onto his arm and grinned widely. "I didn't get you a present, but Merry Christmas!"

Sephiroth frowned, "I feel horrible for leaving you by yourself on Christmas. None of us even realized that it was such an important holiday in your world."

My grip on his arm tightened. "It doesn't matter. You all came back for me. That's all I need."

At this point, Genesis had burst into the room with a happy grin. I quickly unlatched myself from Sephiroth's arm and smiled as the others poured into the room. Shouts of 'Merry Christmas' and 'don't scare us like that!' filled the room and I beamed happily as most of them pulled me into their embraces.

_Yes, if they come back, I'll be happy, because that is all I will ever need._

***(_%&^+)(&$%_*%^&%^_#(*%&+#%)(+&#%(*^%(&^%_(*%&+)#(%&*+#%()&#*(_%^#_(*%^_#%&+#)(%&(*%^_#(*%^#_*(%^_(#%^***

**Bane: Hello peoples!**

**Readers: Hey! You actually updated within a span of less than a week!**

**Bane: If I promise something, I'll do my best to keep it!**

**Genesis: I can't believe you made us look like the bad guys in this chapter.**

**Bane: No. I made you all the heroes!**

**Sephiroth: I agree. She made us realize what we did and then we had to save her by getting her to the hospital.**

**Zack: Whoop! I'm a hero.**

**Reno: (*coughs) Except Yazoo. (*cough, cough)**

**Yazoo: WHO THE FUCK!**

**Bane: You the fuck!**

**Kadaj: Disssss!**

**Yazoo: I'm sick of you making a fool out of me!**

**Bane: (*huffs) You don't need me to make a fool out of your narcissist self.**

**Yazoo: ****DAMN RIGHT I DON'T...Wait…..**

**Everyone: (*laughs at Yazoo's expense)**

***&%(&^$%^$)*&%^(&^$(&^#_*%&#_%*&%)(#^_#*%^_)%&#_(*%^#%(^_#%(*^&_#*(%^_(*#%^_*%&_%&_*^%_*(^#%_(*#%^_(#*%^_%*(^(***

**Hey everyone! As I promised… the conversation between my brothers and I on Zack's death.**

**Me: (*sniffles) Noooooo Zack! Don't die!**

**Spencer: Awww do you need a 'wahhhh burger'?**

**Nigel: laughs**

**Me: SHUT THE HELL UP! ."**

**Both: continues making fun of me.**

**Me: Okay. That's it! (*points at Nigel) You cry when you get beaten in Nazi Zombies and when you don't have your way. So you can shut up! (*points at Spencer) You're the one who started bawling this morning because of that episode of 'Teen Wolf' you were some interested in! So you can shut up too! I can have my own fit of melancholy without either of you teasing me! Nay Ming den M-ming bak? (Translation from Cantonese: Do you understand or not understand?)**

**Both: (*cowers away) Ngoh ming! (Translation: I understand!)**

**^)&^$_(*^#%(&#%_(#*_^#+)%&#%(*#^%)&*#^%_#(*^#(_*%^#(&%^)#&%*^#_(*^#(%#(&%^_#*%^_(#^_*(#%^#)&%^#(*%^#_(^#_*(%^#)(**

**My next chapter will hopefully be up by Friday! Now, I'm going to go play Left 4 Dead 2.**

**Wait! I need ideas for the following chapters!**

**Chapter XXIII: Valentine's & April Fool's Day**

**Chapter XXVI: Six Flags Fun!**

**And**

**Chapter XXVII: Last Day of School!**

**There's going to be XXVIII chapters anyways… Tell me if you want me to add a little sneak peek of the sequel! Okay! Review! Please!**


	24. Chapter XXII: Yandere Midterms!

**Chapter XXII: Yandere Midterms!**

**&^_(*^(^&($*%^$)*&^%#+)%(#&%_*(^%_(#%&+)(&#)*&%_*&%)(*#%*^#)%^%_(*#&+)#(%&#(^%)#%^+)#(%&+)*^%_#&%^#+)*%&)(#^***

Midterms week. January 28, 2011

I began to hyperventilate as I ate breakfast. I was going to fail so badly today. I watched as Zack, Reno, Cloud, Kadaj, and Loz began to copy my actions at the breakfast table, even Weiss, Nero, and Yazoo looked unnerved today. I clutched my English notebook tightly as I reread the notes again and again, trying to memorize the key facts.

I scarfed down my pancakes. "Okay, Zack. Who was the author of the Odyssey?"

Zack chewed on a piece of bacon. "Umm. Homer, right?"

I nodded, "Correct."

Zack nodded, "Then, where is Odysseus king?"

I smirked, "Easy. Ithaca. Kadaj. Who turned Odysseus's men into swine and beasts?"

Kadaj gulped down some of his milk, "Circe the enchantress. What is Odysseus's Roman name?"

"Ulysses. Cloud. Who aided Odysseus with Circe's spell?" I asked.

Cloud wiped his mouth. "Your father."

Kadaj gave Cloud a curious look. "Huh? Her father's dead."

I shook my head. "He meant Hermes. He said my father because if I were to consider the planet that I was born under, which is Mercury, Hermes's Roman name. Then, Hermes would in fact be my godly parent."

Zack nodded in understanding. "I get it. What's mine?"

I shook my head, "I don't know. Your birthdate was never given. You were only given a year."

Zack nodded glumly then cheered up. "My birthdate is July 1!"

I frowned. That was not canon to the story line as far as original facts were concerned. Oh well. "Your godly parent is Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Polar opposite to Cloud's of course."

I found it odd that Zack would be the Moon and Cloud, a Leo, was the Sun. True to what Tetsuya Nomura intended, Zack was a contrast to Cloud.

Genesis strolled into the dining room and upon seeing us study together, smirked. "I hope you are all ready for my exam."

I headdesked. "I have a feeling we're all going to fail."

Genesis pats my head. "You'll do fine. I bet you're the only one that'll pass this exam of mine. The only one that you'll have to worry about is Sephiroth's exam."

Sephiroth came in, dressed in his SOLDIER uniform; the difference with this new uniform was that it concealed his chest. "It's only for 2nd period. You're taking an exam for SOLDIER. We have about 2 hours for each exam. That's enough time to go outside and take the SOLDIER exam. I'll provide wooden swords for you to use."

I dropped my notebook and ran to the door, pulling on my shoes. "Well, I'm going to go run."

Angeal grabbed a hold of my blue hoodie. "Not so fast. School starts in 15 minutes and you wouldn't want to go to school sweaty, right?"

I reluctantly nodded, taking my shoes back off. "But I'm wearing my Adidas Barricades!" I shouted, pointing at the blue shoes.

Sitting back down at the dinner table, I flipped through my notebook once again before we left for school. Well, even when we were at school, I didn't stop reading the notebook over and over again. I only stopped when the exam had started.

As I expected, it was a 200-question exam with a writing task. I sighed and flipped the test open to the writing task. My eyes bulged and I glared lightly at Genesis, who was sitting at his desk reading the very book that the question was about. The question was written in his neat handwriting.

Please write down all the written acts of LOVELESS. Also, please do not say that we have yet to cover this. You should've been paying attention. I also want the interpretation of the acts.

My eyes twitched as I wrote the whole poem and interpretation. Then, I realized that I had neglected to mention to Genesis that there was an ending to LOVELESS. After I finished my test, I put my pen away and gave my exam in.

Walking back to my desk, I fingered the pendants on my neck. The mini silver LOVELESS, and the two one wings (one black and one silver) hung there as the SOLDIER keychain was hooked to my pants. I glanced at how the others were doing.

Kadaj seemed to be having trouble with the vocabulary. I found that he often counts syllables with his fingers.

Cloud was fairing quite well with the writing task… no. Now he's lost.

Zack on the other hand, was too busy smacking his head on the desk, mumbling 'remember, damn it!'

Adiana looked pretty calm. Then again, it was because I used to always annoy her by quote LOVELESS. I don't think she got the interpretation, though.

A familiar tension in my bladder warned me of impending doom. I raised my hand.

Genesis's eyes found mine. "What is it, Maigen?"

I fidgeted slightly, "I _really_ need to use the bathroom."

He sighed. "Can you wait?" I shook my head for the negative. Genesis got up from his seat and went out into the hallway to call for someone to watch over the class. When the person arrived, I got up from my seat and followed Genesis to the bathroom.

"I forgot to mention that there is an end to LOVELESS." I confessed.

Genesis stopped walking abruptly. "And what would that be?"

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises,

Nothing shall forestall my return.

To become the dew that quenches the land,

To spare the sands, the seas, the skies

I offer thee this silent sacrifice." I quoted.

Genesis had begun to walk again. "That ending does fit it. Although, I wondered why I could not find anything about LOVELESS on your computer. Or our world for the matter." He glared at me accusingly.

I gulped and fled into the bathroom so that I wouldn't have to face him. Out of all the people to discover the blockage I put up, it had to be the person who'd be less understanding about it. I hid and did my business before getting out to wash my hands. I just sat against the wall from there.

"You know that you're going to have to answer me eventually. I'm not leaving until I've gotten an answer out of you and you're not leaving that bathroom until you've answered, even if I have to lock you in there." Genesis growled out.

I froze at his tone and meekly replied. "I blocked all links to your world. You won't know a thing besides what you already knew before you came to this world."

"We have a right to know about everything in our world!" Genesis hissed as I came out of the bathroom. He pinned me to the wall by the neck. "Who are you to say that we can't have those answers? I'm so mad, I could kill you."

I clawed at his hands, in need of air. The anger in his eyes matched the insanity that he would have later in his world. I began to sob and choke. But the sounds that came out were gurgles. I didn't want him to hate me, but it already looked like he did. "P-please." I begged, "S-s-stop! I-I c-can't b-breathe."

The anger and resentment seemed to disappear from his eyes as he let go of my neck. He was about to speak, but I ran away from him. Tears cascaded from my eyes as my hands tried to cover up the front of my neck in hopes to conceal the bruises that would no doubt mar my skin. Genesis merely walked after me. I ran into the classroom, head down so that my hair could conceal my eyes. I gathered up my things before running out of the classroom again. I looked to my left to see Genesis about 10 feet away from me. My eyes widened and I turned left to hide in the gym.

Running into the gym, I found all of the students on the floor writing. Some of the teachers came up to me to ask where I was supposed to be. But I merely ignored their question and demanded, while keeping my head down and hand to my neck. "W-where's Mr. Angelus? W-where's my cousin?"

At this point, the teachers realized that I was crying, pointed to the back corner of the gym, where there was a door for the office of the 9th grade teacher. I ran over, careful not to step on anyone or an exam.

Once I had reached the back corner, I threw the door open, causing Sephiroth to jump out of his seat, "What are you doing here? Don't you have an exam to take in Genesis's class?"

I shook my head and closed the door before I ran over and threw my arms around his waist and sobbed into his chest. Sephiroth had frozen upon contact. He probably wasn't used to human contact, especially the intimate kind.

"I-I c-can't go back there." I whimpered into his chest.

Sephiroth placed a hand onto my shoulder awkwardly. "What happened?"

"I can't have you all turn evil ever again. I won't allow it! That's why… That's why I blocked all files and links to Final Fantasy VII! I didn't want to keep things from you guys, but if you all kill each other off again, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself!" I sobbed.

Sephiroth sighed heavily, "It's alright. You did what you felt was the right thing. If it was to save our lives than I understand. But how does this involve Genesis and your being here?"

I stepped away from Sephiroth and turned away. "If I show you, you'll tell everyone else and then… Then, they'll kill him!"

"They're not going to kill him, Maigen." Sephiroth snorted, feeling as if he were talking to a child.

I shook my head. "You have to promise that you won't kill him!" I held up my pinky. "Pinky swear!"

Sephiroth scoffed a little before hooking his own pinky with mine. "I swear."

I nodded before removing my left hand from my neck to show him the bruises that were already forming. "It's not as bad as it seems, right?" I asked, in hopefulness.

I felt Sephiroth gently trace the bruises and winced a little. He grit his teeth almost unnoticeably. "I'll kill him."

I pulled on his arm. "No! You promised me!"

Sephiroth's face, once passive and cold, hardened, but he held back his anger. Only the slight grit of his teeth betrayed his anger at his friend. "Fine. But only because I made that child's promise."

Nodding, I went to sit in one of the two office chairs and took out my Nintendo DS Lite. "Can I stay with you for the rest of the day?"

Sephiroth took out his phone, typed a message, sent it, and waited for a reply from each of the receivers before he faced me. "The Angeal and Rufus will be here in a few minutes. You're staying here for the rest of the day."

I smiled happily in reply. Turning on the DS, I began to rotate in the chair as I played Taiko no Tatsujin DS. I loved the song Juken Sentai Gekiranger and squealed happily when I beat my own high score. I got 514160 points! And I hit 100% of the notes! XD

All the while, I kept an eye on Sephiroth who watched me with an amused expression. To him, it may have seemed as if I was happily playing a video game. But my mind ran deeper than that.

Thinking back to before, I remembered how terrified of Genesis I was. I really scared that he would kill me. He also gave off a menacing aura as he stalked after me when I ran. This was only the second time that I felt that my life was really in danger. It felt like an impending doom overcame me. Even being in the same room as Sephiroth didn't calm me. I was restless.

To think that the man that shared the same bed as me was capable of rendering me into this terrified mess, to think that the man that I had grown to adore could terrify me into wanting to hide away, and to think that I caused all of it. I brought this upon myself.

The realization weighed down my heart like the heaviest of prison chains. I had no one but myself to blame for his hate. My eyes widened and tears began to well up again. "___Yes, I am one who seizes their dreams, I stain my sword red for my ambitions._ I have no one but myself to blame."

I stood up and put the game away to stare in the mirror at the far end of the room. The girl… No, the _child_ that stared back looked beaten, kicked, defeated. Her cheeks were stained with tears that were like waterfalls from her eyes. I was this foolish child. To prevent them from knowing the truth, I have brought upon the hatred of the man that I adored. I fingered the bruises that danced on my neck tauntingly.

"_I'm so mad, I could kill you._" His voice echoed in my mind as I closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I sobbed collapsing to the floor just as the door slammed open.

"What the hell happened, Sephiroth?" Angeal demanded gesturing to my broken form.

"Genesis happened." Sephiroth huffed. "She came running into my office with bruises on her neck that look suspiciously like strangulation marks."

Angeal strolled over to me and helped me up off the floor and onto the office couch. "May I see?" he asked. I lifted my hands to reveal the bruises. Angeal's eyes clouded over. "I'm going to kill that idiot."

"No! It's my fault! Don't be mad at him! I'm the one who hid things from you all! I was afraid that all of you would end up like you did in the game!" I defended.

Sighing angrily, Angeal took out a roll of gauze and wrapped it around my neck to hide the bruises. "I'm still going to talk to him."

Lying down, I yawned, "You're like a big brother. You know that right?"

Angeal smiled gently, "Really?"

I nodded, "Mmhm."

Angeal took out a coat… make that Sephiroth's coat and let it rest on top of me. "Get some sleep, kiddo. We'll have this whole mess fixed in no time."

I let my eyes drift shut as I mumbled. "I hope he doesn't hate me."

^%#_(*%^#_(&&+%(&#+%^#*_(%^+#*%&^_(&#%^+#%*+(%&*&#^%)*&#^%_*($&+(&_(*%^&!%^_(*%+()#%*)(#&%(&#^%_*#%&+)(#%*#)(%&(*#^%(#&*^%

11:01pm 8th period.

"Okay… GENESIS IS SOOO DEAD!" I heard Kadaj exclaim.

"Dude. Calm down. You don't want to wake Maigen up an hour before the SOLDIER test." That was Zack.

"So this is where you all were. Hm. I see the vixen is here too." Any previous thought of revealing that I was awake vanished. I completely froze. "I should've known that she would've ran to you, Sephiroth." He sounded bitter.

"Did you think that harming our host was necessary, Genesis?" questioned Vincent.

"Well. She did keep secrets from us. Most likely important ones." Genesis stated as if it were obvious.

"You strangled her, Genesis!" Angeal exclaimed.

"I did no such thing. A small grip of her neck and that was it." Genesis claimed. "I might have frightened her in anger, but I'm sure that there was no harm done."

"Then tell me why there are bruises on her neck and why she came in here sobbing and in a wreck!" Sephiroth asked coldly.

Silence filled the room and footsteps could be heard crossing the room to me. Cold hands touched my neck causing me to bolt upright and back into the couch. My eyes focused onto the hand and then up to its owner's face. I cowered away. "Please don't hurt me."

But he did not hear. His eyes were like saucers as they focused onto my neck, which were missing the bandages. "I did that?" I gulped and nodded. His eyes darkened. "Why did you block the truth?"

"So that no one dies again." That was my answer and he saw the truth in it. Without the truth, no one would fall into insanity and therefore, no one would end up dead.

Genesis's eyes turned to the others. "Leave us."

All of them were hesitant at first, but eventually left. They knew that Genesis's surprise was not false. Genesis was never able to hide his emotions.

Genesis raised his hand to touch the bruise on my neck. I couldn't help but flinch. "Shhh. I'm not going to hurt you ever again." He cooed. I relaxed a little, but if he wanted me to trust him again, he'd have to do more than that. He looked conflicted. "Why is it that my chest hurts when I see you like this? You don't trust me. Not that I blame you, but it still hurts." He clutched the fabric of his shirt that covered his heart. He looked me in the eyes with eyes full of regret. "Please forgive me."

I could see the truth in his eyes, so my body spoke on its own. "I forgive you."

Genesis's eyes seemed to light up in glee. He seemed to close the distance between our bodies. His face was a mere inch apart. His warm breath danced on my face and to me smelled like apples, extremely sweet apples. I wasn't aware that he began to close the distance between our lips, until he jumped away from me quickly, blushing. Angeal had opened the door to check on us.

I blinked rapidly. What just happened? I had no time to think about it because Angeal was already next to me to retie the bandages. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Genesis had recovered and it looked like he was scolding himself.

"Maigen." Angeal snapped his finger in my ear, causing me to jump in surprise. "It's time for your 2nd Period exam."

I nodded, "Wish me luck."

I ran out of the room to change into my gym uniform in the locker room before coming back out to meet the others. "I'm ready!" Zack, Cloud, and Kadaj ran to check on my neck, shouting random questions and stuff. I laughed at how ridiculous sounding they were, "I'm fine! It was just a misunderstanding!"

They didn't really buy it, but left it alone anyways. When we got to the football field, I didn't see the Sephiroth that comforted me as I cried, but the General Sephiroth that devastated Wutai and turned the war in Shinra's favor. His eyes were a cold void and he had a serious look about him.

We all saluted. "Sir! We are ready to take our exam, sir!"

Sephiroth smirked, "Today, you will be sparing with each other. I will pit each of you up with your opponent. It will be a sort of tournament. Each person who wins will proceed to fight and try to last 5 minutes against me."

That last part shocked me. Was I good enough to last 5 minutes against THE General Sephiroth? I guess we'll have to see.

Sephiroth wasn't pleased with the odd number of students, but still paired us up.

I went against Cloud, Zack against Kadaj, Yazoo against Reno, Loz against Weiss, and Nero goes against whoever wins Loz and Weiss's match.

I received my wooden sword and swung it around a few times. Sephiroth explained that no powers were to be used. This meant only brute strength, agility, and endurance.

I took on a backhanded stance with the wooden katana and faced Cloud. "Ready?"

Cloud nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be."

I grinned and ran at him. "Good! Then I won't hold back!"

If I had to choose a theme song for this battle it would be SOLDIER Battle from Crisis Core. I switched stances to confuse Cloud. Backhanded stance then some other stances that Sephiroth taught us, but I forgot the names of them. XP

Cloud blocked my attacks, but was slightly unwilling to fight back. I growled slightly, "Fight back! Don't just block or I'm going to go for a killing blow!"

I did a flurry of stabs mixed with kicks and punches until I hit him with my right leg, sending him soaring back a good two yards. By this time, Cloud seemed to have snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He held the wooden broad sword and ran at me. I smirked and parried the blade to kick him with my left leg. He let go of his sword and fell to the ground as I put the wooden katana to his neck.

Cloud groaned in defeat. "You win."

I grinned and hauled him to his feet. "When you battle, don't hold back. It could cost you your life."

He scratched his neck. "I'll remember that."

I glanced around and was slightly disturbed by Zack's match. He had Kadaj pinned down with his hands pinned behind his back yelling, "Who's your daddy?"

Yazoo looked like he was toying with Reno, and Weiss was already in a match with Nero. I glanced at Sephiroth, but found that our silver haired General was not in his previous spot.

"Looking for me?" A deep voice questioned in my ear.

Startled, I turned around to face Sephiroth. "When did you get here, sir?"

He chuckled, "I was here this whole time. Congratulations on your match, you did well."

My face went scarlet but beamed regardless. He had complemented me. The great General had _complemented and congratulated me_. "Thank you!"

"But I do wonder how long you'll be able to last against me." He pondered aloud. I gave him a questioning look to his words, but in less than a second, he had charged with a wooden sword of his own.

I barely had time to block, but the impact from his blow felt like a ton of bricks on my arm. My eyes were wide. _So this is the power that so many feared._ But deep down, I knew that this wasn't his full power. I was frightened by his power even though he was holding back. He slashed again and I jumped forward to meet his blade. His blade was a replica of Masamune. There was no way that he was going to fight without Masamune with him, even if it was wooden, it was better than nothing.

As One-Winged Angel played in my head, I aimed a stab at his face, which he dodged. But I wasn't done. "There's more." I stabbed at his head even faster as he dodged and kicked me back. The blow hurt a lot. I coughed, but recovered to roll out of the way of Sephiroth's next attack. Parkour much? Haha. Okay. Now is not the time to be cracking jokes.

I still had my weapon, so that was good. Sephiroth ran at me again with that huge sword of his. I squeaked and quickly stood up to block his attack. "Why do you have to be a SOLDIER First Class?" I screamed in exasperation.

He only chuckled and attacked even more. At this point, I started to rush. I was in no way going to be on defense this entire time. I fought faster and harder. I had to fight back for some of the 5 minutes I had to survive. I wanted to try Omnislash, but it was out of my league for a while. I grit my teeth and faced Sephiroth. I ran at him with all I had and slashed as many times as I could. He was faster than me, but my small size allowed me to evade his attacks quickly. I hit his legs and his back, but in a real battle, those would only be minor injuries. He on the other hand, was able to hit me multiple times, but none that were deadly in a real fight.

I was beginning to tire, so when he slashed at my torso, I was too slow to block it. He knocked me off my feet and I landed on the ground. "Well, you win." I exclaimed when he held his sword about an inch from my neck. He chuckled and held a hand out to me. I grinned in appreciation and laughed as he pulled me up from the floor.

I glanced around at everyone in puzzlement. They were giving me bug eyed looks. "What? Did I do something wrong?" They shook their heads and pointed to the timer that Sephiroth had set for my match. When it was set, I will never know. On the clock was 00:26:07. I stared at it in disbelief. I, a non-mako enhanced human, lasted against Sephiroth for 26 minutes… I swear I would've fainted. "But he was holding back. So in reality, I would have last 4 minutes against him." I argued. Well, it was true.

"4 minutes more than a normal human." Weiss argued back.

I frowned, "That's only because he trained us."

"Uh-huh." Zack crossed his arms. "Says you."

My eye twitched. "Fine. I'll stick with what I think." I can be pretty stubborn when I want to.

"Zack. You're up next." Sephiroth announced.

Zack stood up, "Yeah, yeah."

I sat down next to Cloud, dripping with sweat. I sniffed myself and scrunched my face up. Who knew fighting Sephiroth and Cloud would cause me to smell. I stood up and walked away before sniffing again. Nothing. I pointed at the guys accusingly, "You all need deodorant!" (_Yes, Maigen. Be blunt with them. Hurt their feelings._)

"Hey! We don't smell that bad!" yelled Zack from his battle.

I shook my head at him. I'll buy them all deodorant when I have the time. Onwards with the midterms!

After everyone who won the elimination matches fought Sephiroth, he announced that everyone passed. Those that managed to survive 5 minutes got full credit. The lowest grade given was a 74. The next day, was Band and Latin exams… They do surprisingly well in music, but the Latin got to them in the end. The day after that was Algebra and History. I'm a math wiz, so Algebra was easy for me. But I'm worried about Zack, Kadaj, and Reno… They're not very good at math… History is easy to pass, but it depends on how you word things. Tseng will grade the papers, so I'm going to have to guess that he expects us to write like Turks. Orchestra and Biology was on the last day. Vincent's either too nice, or playing music is easier than I thought. Our test… was to play the first few pages of our concert music. The song that was chosen was Fulfilled Desire from Crisis Core, Incantation from Quidam, One-Winged Angel from Advent Children, Fragments of Memories –D.M.W- from Crisis Core, Scars of Friendship from Crisis Core, Sky-Blue Eyes from Crisis Core, The Clandestine Dark Suits from Crisis Core, and Scorponok from Transformers. I know. It's going to be a very long concert. Biology was just a copy of all the previous Biology tests that we've ever taken this year. So, as long as you remembered answers, you basically passed the test.

Genesis and I have gone back to the way we were before the incident. But I can't help but feel that I didn't want that to be the extent of our relationship. I'm not a pushy person. I'll wait for him… Okay, I was kidding. I just hope he says it to me before I lose the feelings that I have for him. I can get over a crush pretty fast you know. Genesis isn't the only one I like though. It's natural to like more than one person, right? I like Zack, but he has Aeris/Aerith. I like Cloud, but he has Tifa. I like Reno, but I think Adiana has dibbs on him. I like Rufus… but he's kind of too old for me… I like Nero, but he always has Weiss on his mind. Not that I mind, but people around us get ideas you know? I like Weiss, but he probably thinks I'm a brat. I like Kadaj, but he thinks I'm his little sister. I like Vincent, but that won't work out unless I'm immortal like he is. I like Sephiroth, too. Angeal and the others… I like Angeal, but not in the same way as the others, since he's like my ideal big brother.

Anyways, I had begun to forget my crushes on them all until:

February 11, 2011.

I sat at my desk in boredom. That was until, Adiana popped out of nowhere. "Hey, Maigen? What're going to do on Monday?"

I gazed at her sleepily, "What?"

She lightly smacked the back of my head. "Valentine's Day. Monday. Mezzo. Tristan. Zack. Cloud. Kadaj. Weiss. Nero. Reno. Yazoo. Loz. Mr. Rhapsodos. Mr. Angelus? Who's going to be your valentine?"

My eyes widened as I turned to look at the calendar. Adiana was not joking. Valentine's Day was a few days away and on a Monday. I slammed my head against the desk repeatedly as the others watched in worry over sanity. "^^! MY LIFE!"

**%*(_^#%&#^%)&#^%#_*%^#(%#_&(%^#_%*^#_(*%^#_(*%^_)%*&#_)*%^)*&^$_(*#&%*(#^%&#%^(*#%^_(#%&+)(#&%(*#^%)*&#^%)#(***

**Genesis: You made me the bad guy!**

**Bane: No. I made into the yandere lover.**

**Genesis: I'm still the bad guy!**

**Bane: No. You're the yandere.**

**Genesis: I don't even know what a yandere is!**

**Bane: A Japanese ****term for a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence.**

**Genesis: I AM NOT VIOLENT!**

**Bane: Yes and this isn't an otome fanfiction. (sarcastic)**

**Sephiroth: Genesis, if what you did to Maigen wasn't violent, then I don't know what is.**

**Genesis: Angeal, help?**

**Angeal: I'm siding with Sephiroth and Bane. You were violent in this chapter.**

**Genesis: That's because Bane made me do that!**

**Bane: Would you rather be tsundere?**

**Angeal and Sephiroth: *snickers**

**Genesis: What's that?**

**Bane: A Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time.**

**Genesis: That is slightly better.**

**Bane: But someone else has that spot filled.**

**Genesis: Who?**

**Bane: I'm not telling!**

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**Okay! Now! Since I haven't really decided on a title, we'll call it My Final Fantasy VII Story for now! So, like some of you asked, here's the sneak preview of the sequel!**

The fire surrounded me as I clutched the last treasure I held dear. I stood in the middle of my room watching silently in despair as the flames licked the edges of my room. I had nothing to live for in this world, so maybe I should just pass on to the next. I remembered the memories that I made this past year. Genesis. Sephiroth. Zack. Weiss. Nero. Angeal. Vincent. Rufus. Kadaj. Cloud. Reno. Rude. Loz. Yazoo. Tseng. Tears fell from my eyes as I collapsed on the burning floor, the need for air to strong. Suffocating in the poisonous smoke and my own misery. My house was burning and I was going to burn with it. I listened to the maniacal laughter of the ones who caused this.

Closing my eyes and clutching the pack that I had carried to run away with, I whispered, "I'm not ready to die, Minerva." Clutching the photo of both my families (my biological and my figurative), I struggle to my feet to open the window. My hands, eyes, and lungs burned. The heat was too much as I tried to escape. It overcame we and I reached for the sky through the hole burnt into the roof of my room. "I can't die now. Help me Minerva. Please."

I desperately tried to keep my eyes open, but to no avail. I wanted to continue my life. I want to live.

_And you shall have your wish child._

A flash of bright light took over my senses. A relief. Then I found myself in the Lifestream. "What am I doing here, Minerva? Am I dead?"

Turning to face the goddess, and I smiled I admiration. She was as beautiful as ever. She impresses me as a fellow woman, but it's not to compare since I am a mere human and she is a deity. Minerva gave me sympathetic eyes, "I did not intend for you to lose everything else, Maigen. So when you pleaded to me to save your life, there was only one thing to do. You are here in the Lifestream to move onto another world. It's thanks for helping me watch over the fated."

I nodded, "It was my pleasure."

"I have one more thing to ask of you, though." Minerva questioned.

I bowed, "What is your wish, goddess?"

"Could you look after the fated in their own world? Just make sure that the planet doesn't suffer any longer." She requested.

I smirked, "I would've done it without your request."

Minerva lifted her hand and a portal opened. "Would you like some equipment to start with?"

I smirked, "Knights of the Round, Bahamut ZERO, and Phoenix summon. Full Cure, Hell Firaga, Hell Thundaga, Flare, Electrocute, and Apocalypse. Two Dashes, and I want twin katana."

My arms and legs began to glow and I felt each power in me. I found the twin katana strapped to my left hip. I nodded my head towards Minerva, but she had disappeared. Blinking in bewilderment, I shrugged and walked towards the portal.

_A great deed you will do the planet should you succeed. The question now is where you'll start. Do you have an answer?_ A voice spoke to me.

I nodded to no one in particular. "I choose Midgar. LOVELESS Avenue, behind the theater, if possible."

_Your destination has been acknowledged. Please pick up the satchel near the portal and step through._

I picked the bag up and scolded the voice. "It's not a satchel, it's my backpack!"

_Whatever. There's money inside. You do know that they won't remember you at all, right? Geez. How does Minerva deal with you?_

I shrugged and strolled through the portal before saying, "She deals with me because she's not whiney and yes. I now that they won't remember me."

_Hey!_ Then a bright light engulfed me.

**($*&_#(*%_#(%^#_(%*&#(*%^_#(*%)#(%&_(#*%^#(*)%^_#(%&_#_%&_#%^_*(%^#_%^#_*#_)%*(^#)&*%_#(*%^#_)(%&#(*%^#_(*%^#(%^#**

**So? How did you like it? Kind of mysterious right? It's going to be released on Maigen's birthday. Can you remember when that is?**

**Thank you to the following for reviewing!**

**Bibliotaku748: Thank you! I try! ^.^**

**Ty-Lea Rose Yuko: Yes spoilers are nice! XD**

**And thank you Mata Nui for adding my story into your favorites! Isn't your name from Bionicle? I haven't built one in a while.**

**Anyways! Tell me what you all think of the preview!**


	25. Chapt XXIII: That Bloody Joking Princess

******Chapter XXIII: That Bloody Joking Princess**

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Valentine's Day February 14th 2011.

I could put this in sooo many ways. I'M SCREWED! Excuse my foul language, but that is the truth. It was Valentine's Day and I was screwed. Okay, you ask why? This is why. Our freshman class set up a Valentine's Day Dance. The theme was the Bloody Princess.

It was a long myth that ran through my family about a Japanese princess that was never treated like a princess. She was loved, but those that loved her were killed and she was enslaved. Everyday she was beaten. When she was able to break free from those chains, she ran away to search for a new life. She found someone to love and upon hearing about Valentine's Day from her foreign lover, she begged him to celebrate it with her the next time it came. When the next Valentine's Day arrived, she waited for her lover under the full moon. Someone came, but it wasn't her lover. It was the people that enslaved her and killed her family. They had searched for her and tried to take her back or kill her. She refused to go anywhere with them. A fight ensued in which the princess stood over her enslavers, her blood covering her body. Her sanity had left and her lover had just begun to walk up the hill to where they had promised to meet. Fearing that she would harm the one she loved, the princess tried to flee from her lover. But her foreign lover followed her to calm her from her frenzy. When he finally caught her, he proclaimed his love for her and said that what she did was inevitable and that it won't change his feelings. As he kissed her, the princess calmed from her frenzy. For she was the bloody princess that bares the scars of her suffering and he was her prince, and her redemption.

So since my family passed the legend around I'm 'required' to attend the dance. Although the theme was Japanese, people were allowed to wear whatever they wanted. I didn't want to go. AT ALL. BUT! Adiana's making me! You had to have a date… and right now, I don't have one.

I sat in play practice in boredom. Some of the cast had yet to perfect their part in the play. Not that I'm saying that it's easy… But two months should usually be enough. I sighed as I watched Reno flirt with Adiana. They were going to the dance together. He was the only one with a date in our group besides Yazoo.

Someone tapped my shoulder and I sighed, turning to face the person. Urgh. It was Mezzo. How am I not surprised?

"What is it Mezzo?" I asked, tilting my head to the side slightly.

"Um… Do you have a date to the dance?" He asked. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Hey! Make sure you break it to him slowly, Maigen!" yelled Adiana.

The others in the room agreed with her. "Gently, Maigen. You don't want to harm his already shattered pride." Weiss laughed loudly.

Mezzo for one was confused. "Break what to me? Is she going with me or not?"

Zack snorted and fell off his chair, "Dude! Your face is priceless!"

Indeed, Mezzo looked like he was either going to have his head explode from embarrassment or that he was going to pee himself if he did get a straight answer from me soon. "So she'll go with me?" he asked hopefully.

Kadaj sneered. "When the world ends" For some reason that I'll never know, he didn't like Mezzo at all. If Kadaj caught Mezzo and I having a friendly chat about Kingdom Hearts he'd drag me away and threaten Mezzo with Souba. So in a way Mezzo was more terrified of Kadaj than Weiss now.

I shook my head. "Sorry Mezzo, but you can ask anyone except me."

"B-but you're the princess of the dance! You have to have a date!" stuttered Mezzo.

I glared. "I don't **have** to have a date."

"No. You do." Adiana added in. I glared at her in annoyance. "Oh! You didn't want him to know that! Whoops my bad!" She scratched her head sheepishly.

"See! So will you go with me or not?" Mezzo asked impatiently.

"Gently, Maigen! Gently!" Reminded Reno.

"No. I will not go to the dance with you." I replied bluntly.

Kind of harsh, but I didn't care. I had high exceptions for a boyfriend and therefore a date. There are many things that I need in a guy and Mezzo would have to pass the first four in order for me to have them as my date. Here's the list I made.

Personal hygiene. The person must know how to maintain a clean body. There is no way I'm going out with a guy with odor and bad breath.

Personality. They must respect my parents and siblings. Kind, gentle, independent, loving, etc.

Fashion sense. I swear if the guy wears clothes that look horrible, he's definitely out of my life.

Hair. The guy must have well-kept and nice looking hair. This means: 'NO' to the following: Hair gel, teasing, greasiness, oiliness, Afro, dandruff, Mohawk, hard to tame hair, and rough texture. And yes. I don't mind a guy that's bald.

Eyes. His eyes have to be beautiful. Natural eye color is best, though.

Talent. He has to be able to do match me talent wise. This is because I play the violin, piano, flute, drums, vibraphone, and soon, the trumpet. He has to have some talent in the arts.

Intelligence. He must be able to match me in a battle of wits and speech. I won't tolerate a guy who is less intelligent than I.

Hobbies. Does he read? Write? Draw? Play video games? Does he play any sports that I may also be into? So far, no to football. My past experience with football players tells me that they're all arrogant pigs that think they are better than everyone else. Most are non-intelligent in my school and can't even maintain a C average.

Basic cooking and cleaning. I don't want a guy to count on me to cook and clean.

Background. You always want to check this.

Have I satisfied your curiosity? Good. So now you know, Mezzo fails in numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. Sighs. So on a scale of 1 to 10 in my ideal boy chart… he's a 2.

With that, you can imagine Mezzo's face. He sulked back to his group of… people. I don't want to seem like a bitch, but saying that he was like a brother to me would probably be worse for him. Especially since he wants to have a romantic relationship. *Shudders. I can't picture it.

"Well, that makes four boys that you've rejected, Maigen." Nero sighed.

I lazily propped my feet onto the back of the chair in front of me. "I don't like them. If I'm not interested, I won't take the offer. The only thing I'll be getting in return after going to the dance with one of them as my date, is needless accusations. They'll assume that I like them and like I said…"

"When you assume it makes an ass out of you and me. I know, I know." Yazoo sighed. "Even though I don't like you that much, I think you at least need a date to the dance. Besides, your expectations are too high."

I sneered at him, "I wouldn't be talking if I were you. You're the one going out with the slut!"

Yazoo death glared at me. "Jade is not a slut! She also has nothing to do with you or your problems!"

I stood up from my chair. "She is involved with my problems! Why do you think I have a complex with my own appearance? Why do you think I wear loose clothing that covers every part of my body? It's because of her! Throughout elementary school and middle school, she's always made my time miserable! Do you know why she's a slut? It's because she slept with 25 guys in the same year!"

Yazoo didn't look like he believed me. "You're wrong because I know that she'd never do that!" Oh. So he knows her for two periods and now he thinks he knows how she really acts! "You're just a jealous whore that throws herself upon every guy she likes!"

The bell rang, signaling the end of school. I stood up and promptly socked him in the face so that he fell onto the floor. My hair blocked my eyes as I glared down at Yazoo. "You don't know me. I'm sorry for whatever that I've done to you. So kindly get out of my life."

Nobody said anything when I quietly scurried out the doors of the auditorium with my bag to meet with Rude and go home. I didn't need a date to go to a dance that I helped put together. _But it would be nice to have a date… Oh, whom am I kidding? Was I ever the one to follow the examples of the average? Nope!_ Well, that much was true. The only person I really followed the example of was Gackt. That was it.

I nodded to Rude, who returned it and scurried into the car with Rufus. Rude and I made a point that no words were needed to communicate with each other. I guess it's kind of like he just knows what I'm talking about through my facial expressions. Rude… communicated in mostly grunts. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to get what he said, so he'd have to explain to me.

At the moment, my facial expression held one of annoyance. This meant, "Don't say anything because I might snap."

Rude's nod and the following grunt told me that he knew to do that.

Rufus at the time was conversing with the person on the other line of his cell phone. "I'm sure that she'll apologize to him… He angered her didn't he? You're silence confirms my question. What did he say? … Ah. I can see why he was at the receiving end of her punch… She's in the car with me…" He turned to me, "Yazoo wants an apology."

I snatched the phone from him and held it in front of my face. My glare returned. "GO FUCK YOURSELF, YAZOO YOU ASSHOLE!" after I was satisfied with the drop of the phone on the other line, I gently handed Rufus his phone back.

He had an amused smirk on his face as he spoke into the phone once more. "We'll see you all at home."

I dumped the backpack on the floor of the car and sighed heavily. I rubbed my eyes and glanced at Rufus. "Is everything set up in the gym?"

He nodded. "Just as you wanted."

I smiled, "Excellent!"

When we had arrived home, I ran out of the car as fast as I could so that I could finish my homework and prepare for the dance.

*^%&_(*%^#_(*^*(%^+(#*^&*%^$_(*#^%#*%^*&%!^_(*^$#_*%&_(#*%^%)!&*^$*#%&+#)*%^)*&%_%&_#%*&_#*(%^(#&%^_(*#%^_#(*^#%_(#*%^_#(%*_#%*(#^%_9

About 6:35pm that night.

I stood in front of the full sized mirror in my room and stared. I was wearing a kimono to a Valentine's Day dance. It was true. I had a black kimono on with fiery red patterns on it. The sash was a silver color with feathery designs on it. On my neck was the LOVELESS necklace, with the two different colored wings besides the book. Earlier that evening, I was taken to New York for another haircut. I had to cut my hair at least once every 3 months in order to maintain my hair. So now, I had a haircut very similar to Genesis's.

(I figured out why I was so bitchy before and I can still feel the throbbing of my lower parts. Yes everyone, Mother Nature's gift has arrived. )

I smiled at the mirror gently. This was perfect.

"Maigen! It's time to leave! Are you ready yet?" Reno yelled at the door.

I grabbed my iPod before answering. "I'm ready now! You may come in!"

The door opened and in stepped Reno and Zack each in a yukata. Zack wore a dark blue yukatas and Reno wore a black and red yukata. Sorry Adiana, but I'm drooling over your date. I openly gapped at them. "I never knew that you two would look so nice in the yukatas."

Zack gave me a noogy. "You look pretty damn good yourself!"

A slam of the door downstairs snapped me out of my blushing trance. I ran out of the room, "What's going on?"

Everyone downstairs refused to meet my eyes. Yazoo wasn't there. My eyes narrowed behind my glasses. "What did he do?"

Genesis pointed to Spencer's room. "You're not going to like what happened."

There was no time to piece together what could've happened. I strolled past everyone and opened the door of the closet in Spencer's room. My eyes widened then narrowed dangerously. "He stole my silk kimono!" I turned around back to the living room and glanced at the car keys that were left. I snarled, "He took a car too!" My stomach churned violently and I collapsed onto one knee, clutching my abdominal area. "This can't get any worse."

"Actually, it can." Nero piped up. I turned my head to face him. "He took the headdress for the crowned princess of the party. That and he's giving them to his date."

I stood up abruptly, "Why didn't any of you stop him?"

"He took Domo hostage and had his Velvet Nightmare pointed at it." Kadaj spoke up.

My temper flared, "HE TOOK DOMO HOSTAGE!" I ran upstairs to grab my wooden katana and bag before I opened the door. "I'm going to give that idiot a piece of my mind."

No one dared to stand against me. A few ideas came into my head on how to kill Yazoo. Should I just beat him with the wooden katana or drop kick him where it hurts most until he dies of pain? Or should I castrate him with his own gun? So many options, so little time.

Everyone was silent when I asked for their options. I think some of them winced when I mentioned the last two options. I guess they find that part of their lower body sacred. So I guess I'll just have to kick Yazoo's until it hurts of pee.

I laughed at the thought a little bit insanely. The others in the car stared at me bug-eyed. Well, Sephiroth just shook his head.

I guess I should choose now to make things clear, Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Reno, Zack, Kadaj, Cloud, Rufus, and I were going to the dance. Everyone else stayed home. As the two cars pulled into the parking lot, I ran out and to the gym as fast as I could. I entered through the back doors and began to set up the music choices for the night. I didn't pay attention as the others came inside the gym to help set up.

"Maigen! Can I help with the song choices?" Adiana called out as she opened the back door to the gym.

I glanced up from my laptop to answer her, "Yeah, but they have to be in Japanese."

We set the stereos into place and I grinned. "A Japanese themed Valentine's dance with karaoke. Now this is a party!"

I motioned for Sephiroth, Angeal, and Rufus to open the doors to the gym. As the students poured into the room, I grabbed the microphone. "This is a night where lovers spend time together. Tonight we celebrate this evening together! So, let's shed some light on this dark room (*Zack flipped the spotlight for the dance floor on) and enjoy the evening we've put together."

I put the party songs on shuffle and the first to be played was Black Diamond by Nana Mizuki (Utau Hoshina from Shugo Chara) Adiana and I each grabbed microphones and began to sing.

After the song ended I placed the microphone on the stand gently as I went to search for Yazoo. I went to my bag and took out the wooden katana. I stalked past the dance floor to look for Yazoo and Jade. My mind spun from the flashing lights, but my mind was fueled by the music that boomed from the speakers. Innocent Sorrow by Abingdon Boys School came on as my eyes found Yazoo and Jade dancing.

My steps faltered when I saw Yazoo's face. My eyes widened. He looked so happy, so unlike the Yazoo that the movie showed us, and the one who despises me. This was the best of him that only his brothers and Jade saw. My heart clenched painfully when I realized that he was doing what I forbid myself from doing. _Having fun and falling in love._

I closed my eyes, surrounded by strangers and friends alike. If he was happy, then I won't be the one to take it away.

So, I turned my back on the two, setting aside my resentment of Jade and returned to where I previously played the role of DJ. I had nothing against Yazoo, so I'll leave them alone.

A few of the students came up to me about 12 minutes later.

"Can we start the karaoke and dance contest?" the shorter red haired girl requested.

I looked between her and her other friends before nodding and grabbing the mic. "I see that you're all enjoying yourselves." A loud roar filled the room in agreement. "So, how about we start the contests!" Another roar of agreement filled my ears causing me to grin in excitement. "So I hereby officially begin the karaoke and dance contest!"

The three girls that came up picked a song to sing. The machine beeped and voiced out, "Shojo S by SCANDAL, start!"

I watched in delight as the three girls sang to the song with all they had. I snuck a glance at Yazoo and Jade, but only found Yazoo alone. I furrowed my eyebrows. By the looks of it, he was searching for Jade. From my view of the crowd, I easily spotted Jade on the other side of the room sucking face with a football player. I think Yazoo saw me looking at him. He glared at me mouthing, 'What?'

I turned my gaze to Jade and the football player heading into the bathrooms. I shook my head at the turn of events. Yazoo was going to have his happiness taken away from the very person who gave it to him. My gaze lingered on the bathroom door, hoping that Yazoo would get the hint, before looking for the other members of the gang.

Reno and Adiana looked like they were high on nothing but air. They were dancing and laughing. Girls that were probably asking them for a dance surrounded Cloud and Zack. I grinned in silence. Even in this world, they had girls drooling over them. Rufus, Sephiroth, and Angeal were carrying on a conversation in the corner furthest from the students. Kadaj and Genesis were manning the post that I had abandoned when I started looking for the others.

I sighed and sat down on the floor near the DJ booth and began to randomly swing the wooden katana up and down.

A hand was stuck in front of my face. "Would you like to dance with me, my princess?"

I blinked and stared at the crimson haired commander. "You want to dance with me?"

Genesis smirked, knelt in front of me and began to lightly stroke my left cheek. "There's a reason why I didn't have a date to the dance, Maigen."

My face began to heat up, but in spite of that, I still narrowed my eyes. "You're not playing with me, are you?"

Genesis chuckled, "I'm not."

I shivered as he continued to stroke my cheek. _This is a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream._ I repeated these thoughts in my head, but my mouth spoke different words. "How do I know if you're being sincere and not lying?" Yes I'm an idiot. I should've kissed him, right? Well you can't blame me. Most school relationships end up like the situation Yazoo was in right now.

Genesis leaned in, causing me to press against the wall further. "Then I guess I'll have to show you. I never did get to finish what I started last month." He began to close the distance between us.

My breathing halted for a moment and my eyes closed. My first kiss was going to be with a video game character. In the back of my mind, I was pleading. _Somebody please interrupt! I don't want my first kiss to be on the floor, at a dance, in front of so many people!_

Luckily for me, a scream rang out in the room. This caused Genesis to back away and for me to stand up to see what the commotion was about. There was a circle near the bathrooms. I pushed my way through. "Excuse me! Pardon me!"

On the floor was the football player and an angered Yazoo stood over him. "Stay away from her!"

Said bitch was at the side of the football player wearing my torn up kimono. "Don't you get it? I don't love you, Yazoo! I was using you to get back at Maigen! So now that you've given me the crown of tonight's princess, I'm leaving you. You're below me, Yazoo. I could never love you. No one could ever love you! The only reason I went to the dance with you was to make my ex jealous."

Poor Yazoo looked completely heartbroken. "So, everything you did and said was to make that pathetic piece of shit jealous?"

Jade stalked up to him and slapped him in the face. "That's for hitting my boyfriend."

The football player had recovered and punched Yazoo so hard, he was bleeding on the floor. "That's for going out with my girlfriend." He then continued to kick the broken Yazoo in the stomach.

Yazoo just continued to lie there, taking it all. I stood there horrified as Yazoo was beaten. I then realized that I still had the wooden katana with me. I gripped the handle, "Hey! Slut and Asshole!"

Both of them glanced at me. "What do you want, freak?" The football player snarled.

I pointed the wooden katana at his face and adopted Yazoo's normal persona. I smirked arrogantly, "There are many things I want. I want my family alive, for Jade to disappear, to get my first kiss, and for you to get off my cousin."

Jade flipped me the finger, "I'll do whatever I want, Maigen. I'm the princess tonight."

The football jock snarled, "So this is the girl who made a fool out of you? In that case, I'll take care of her right now."

He charged at me with a fist raised. At times like this, I wonder where the others are…

*^%&_(*%^#_(*^*(%^+(#*^&*%^$_(*#^%#*%^*&%!^_(*^$#_*%&_(#*%^%)!&*^$*#%&+#)*%^)*&%_%&_#%*&_#*(%^(#&%^_(*#%^_#(*^#%_(#*%^_#(%*_#%*(#^%_9

With Reno and Adiana.

Reno sat in the stands of the gym with Adiana's head on his shoulder. Both of them were watching as the jock attempted to punch Maigen.

Reno laughed. "He's going to get his ass kicked."

Adiana yawned, but still laughed. "Yup. When she gets like that there's no stopping her."

Reno messed with her hair and kissed her head. "You think we should help?"

Adiana snuggled closer to Reno, her face cradled against the curve of his neck. "No. We'll get her handle it." She raised her voice so that Maigen could hear her. "KILL THE BITCH HOLE ASS BITCH NUGGET! GYAAA!"

You could hear Maigen scream back. "I'VE GOT IT ALREADY! DON'T NAG ME WOMAN!"

"I love you too!" Adiana called back.

Reno smirked at Adiana seductively, "You're really bossy you know that?"

Adiana grinned wholeheartedly. "I know that. So, when are you going to give me my Valentine's gift?"

Reno leaned towards her. "It's right here." He closed the distance between their lips as Adiana brought her arms up to wrap around his neck and as he pulled her to his body.

*^%&_(*%^#_(*^*(%^+(#*^&*%^$_(*#^%#*%^*&%!^_(*^$#_*%&_(#*%^%)!&*^$*#%&+#)*%^)*&%_%&_#%*&_#*(%^(#&%^_(*#%^_#(*^#%_(#*%^_#(%*_#%*(#^%_9

With Sephiroth, Angeal, Rufus, and Kadaj.

Kadaj, Angeal, and Rufus watched the fight in concern. Maigen had dodged the punches aimed at her, but now there were two opponents to fight against: One that claws and one that punches. She had her wooden katana raised and had hit the jock twice in the back. She was toying with them.

"Should we help her?" Kadaj questioned with worry as Maigen narrowly dodged a claw to the face. He turned to Rufus, "You're the principal! Do something!"

Rufus merely continued to drink his water. "I've been meaning to find a way to get rid of that football player and the concubine for a while now. If they manage to injure Maigen, then I have a way to get them taken out of the school. They've been given a warning from juvenile hall. If they cause trouble once more under the witness of teachers, then they will be transferred to a delinquent's school some towns away."

Kadaj pointed a finger at Rufus angrily. "You're using little sister and big brother!"

Rufus waved his hand dismissively. "Be that as it is, two against one is still putting her at a disadvantage. Right, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth continued to search through iTunes to find the perfect fighting theme. "I've taught her everything a First Class SOLDIER knows. She'll be fine. Have faith in her."

The other three weren't so convinced.

Sephiroth sighed, "Did she get hit yet?"

"No. But she might." Angeal replied.

"Then she'll be fine as long as she concentrates. She lasted 26 minutes against me. Have a little faith in her." Sephiroth waved off Rufus and Angeal's face of disbelief in favor of Maigen's playlist.

*^%&_(*%^#_(*^*(%^+(#*^&*%^$_(*#^%#*%^*&%!^_(*^$#_*%&_(#*%^%)!&*^$*#%&+#)*%^)*&%_%&_#%*&_#*(%^(#&%^_(*#%^_#(*^#%_(#*%^_#(%*_#%*(#^%_9

With Zack and Cloud.

Zack laughed as he drank another cup of fruit punch. "Come on Cloud! We've got to par~ty!"

Cloud tried to pull away from Zack's steel-like grip. "We have to help Maigen."

Zack drank another cup and began to hiccup. "She'll be fine. Besides, she said we smell ba-_hic_! This _hic_ drink is_ hic_ really good~!"

Yes, he was beyond drunk. Cloud groaned. "That's because someone spiked the punch. You're drunk man. Face it."

But Zack was already flirting with a group of girls. "Hey~. So. How're you doing?"

The girls giggled. Cloud began to bang his head on the wall.

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With Genesis.

Genesis was not a lucky man. He was trapped in a group of fangirls that wouldn't let him move from his spot to go help Maigen. So right now he was thinking.

_Dear Gaia! To think the fangirls back home were bad! These girls won't even let me save Maigen! And on that topic, I might as well give Yazoo a nice punch in the gut when we get home. He insulted Maigen earlier and now, he's gotten his ass handed to him and needs Maigen to rescue him. That and he interrupted our moment! I was going to kiss her! I think the world hates me. _

_Oh! Shit! No! Maigen, dodge those punches with all your might! The Goddess has blessed you! So you had better win this fight! I can't save you this time! TT^TT_

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Maigen's POV

I moved away from the football player's punches and from Jade's scratches. Both of them were really slow. "KILL THE BITCH HOLE ASS BITCH NUGGET! GYAAA!" yelled Adiana from her seat in the stands with Reno.

I jumped a little when I heard her and yelled back. "I'VE GOT IT ALREADY! DON'T NAG ME WOMAN!"

I could hear her reply with, "I love you too!"

I grabbed my wooden katana and began to strike the jock's back. I wasn't serious, but my strikes still hurt to be completely honest. Even if I hold back I'll still hurt an average person with no training. I grinned at their lame attempts to fight me. I snuck a glance at Genesis, who was surrounded by fangirls, but was still looking my way with a worried expression.

For a moment, I found Gackt in his place instead. I became lost in his eyes for a moment and wondered for a brief moment why he looked like he was in agony. In that moment, Jade had begun to claw at my face. My eyes widened for a brief second as I thought, _Oh. That's why._

I howled in pain as her sharp nails dug into the right side of my face. Her nails went from my forehead to mid-cheek. I dropped the wooden katana to clutch my face as my left hand flew towards Jade's smug face sending her unconscious to the floor. The football player punched my gut in anger. I coughed and spat out blood. I narrowed my eyes at the jock and began to pick him in the place where it hurts the most repeatedly. One could say that I lost my marbles at that point.

I glared at his fallen form kicking him in the side. In my mind, I wanted him to bleed as much as I've bled the past year. People around me gasped in horror as the jock spewed blood onto the floor. My black kimono, which was stained with my blood, began to fit my appearance.

The bloody princess that bares the scars of her suffering.

"Maigen!" Genesis called through the crowd as he made his way through.

My mind was still filled with blood lust and I feared for anyone that confronted me. So when Genesis ran towards me, I ran away from him and out the back door.

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With Adiana and the others.

Cloud stared after Maigen and Genesis. "Should we go after them?"

Zack shook his head. "Nah. Genesis will handle it all. We've still got to deal with those two idiots on the floor." He gestured to Jade and the jock, whose name was Phil. No one bothered to remember his name though.

Adiana woke Jade up before promptly smacking the concubine in the face. "That's for my friend you freaking bitch!"

Reno carefully dragged Adiana to the snack table. "Maigen will be fine. Just let Genesis deal with it. He won't do anything bad to her."

Adiana's glared hardened, "He better not. I want her mind to stay as innocent as possible."

In the other direction, Sephiroth stared at the door where Maigen and Genesis had left. Angeal clasped a hand on the silver-haired General's shoulder. "Are you sure you want those two to be alone? I know that you like her, Seph."

Sephiroth tried very hard to not let his pain show through, but Angeal could read him like a book. "I love her Angeal and he loves her too. But she can only choose one of us anyways. Heh. We both love a child, Angeal. It's repulsive of us. There's a ten-year gap between her and us. She'll only ever love Genesis anyways."

Angeal smacked Sephiroth in the head. "Idiot. She loves you too. Don't you see the posters in her room? It's mostly you, Cloud and Zack. The only other poster in her room is of her idol Gackt. She likes you both, so you still have a chance."

Sephiroth shook his head. "After tonight, she'll only have eyes for Genesis."

Angeal pitied his friend, but saw the truth in his words. "Then if you love her that much, wait for her. All you have to do is be patient. She's still young. There are many things that could happen, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth nodded his head. "I'll wait for her."

%&#_%#*^&%_#^*%_#^*%+)#&%_(*#%^_(*#%^#_%*+#()%&(&*#&%)&*^$_(*%&#_)(*%(^*&#^%(%&)#(%*&($&^%_($*^%+)#*&%+()#&%*(#^%_(*^%+)#(&+)#*%^(#&^%_(#*%&_((

Maigen's POV

I heard him call after me, but I still ran. I ran and ran but it wasn't enough. Genesis had grabbed my arm and began to pull my form to his. I tried to get away from him. "Don't come near me!"

"No! I'll always be by your side." He grunted.

I continued to struggle. "I'll hurt you!"

His arms slipped around my waist. "No you won't. You won't let yourself do that and I won't let you fall into a frenzy."

I stopped struggling and choked out. "WHY?"

Genesis buried his face into my neck and exhaled, sending shivers down my spine. His lips met my neck softly. "It's because I love you."

Time seemed to freeze as I registered what he said. He loved me. Genesis loved me. And just like that, time seemed to return to normal as Genesis spun me around to face him. My chocolate eyes met his stunning aquamarine colored eyes. My lips moved. "Say it again."

He smirked and tilted my chin while he leaned in closer. "I love you."

With that, he closed the space between our lips. Our lips met in a chaste kiss. It was sweet and innocent. His lips were soft, a little chapped, but still soft. Our kiss was clumsy. It was my first kiss, so I was inexperienced. Genesis on the other hand, must have kissed many girls. He held me close even as we broke the kiss for air.

I listened to the lull of his heartbeat as I closed my eyes. His chest rumbled with his next spoken words. "Happy Valentine's Day, my princess."

%*#^%#*(_^%&*(_#^%_*#%&_(*#%^_*(%^+#)(%&_#(*%^#*(_^&%+)#(%&(_*#^%*(+#%+)(#%&(_*#^%*+#%&+#()%&*(#^%+)#*%&+#()%&_#(*^%+#(*%&+#)(%&#+)(%&#(*(*

April Fools' Day 2011

I snickered as I sat in History class. Reno, Zack, Cloud, Kadaj, Yazoo, Weiss, and I had started pulling pranks since this morning. It was fun, but slightly cruel too. I had pranked Genesis with Sephiroth that morning by pretending not to love him anymore and to be in love with Sephiroth.

_I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake my sleeping prince and Weiss. I snuck downstairs to find Sephiroth and shook him awake._

_He sat up, causing the blanket to fall off his tone chest and I could help but stare. I wasn't used to seeing a man without a shirt on even though I've seen pictures of Gackt shirtless *drools. My relationship with Genesis was limited to innocent cuddling and the kiss on Valentine's Day, but that was it. At least until I was 18 he said._

_Sephiroth blinked for a moment. "What is it, Maigen?"_

_I twiddled my thumb for a moment. "Do you want to play a prank on Genesis with me?"_

"_I'm not doing anything until I've heard the plan." Came his apathetic reply._

_I thought it over for a moment. "I'm going to pretend that I don't love Genesis anymore and that I love you instead. We're basically going to break his heart for the morning."_

_Sephiroth looked a little more eager than I had pictured him to be. His eyes, which were usually devoid of most emotion and stoic, now glinted with mischief. "How may I help you with that?"_

_I scratched my head, embarrassed. "I didn't exactly think that far."_

_He glanced at the clock before grabbing my arm. "Then you won't mind if I come up with the ideas?"_

_I smiled at him, "Sure, I don't mi-…" But I was cut off from my sentence when he pulled me towards him and flipped me over so that I was on the air mattress and he was pinning me down. I went really red. "Wha?"_

_His silver hair hung down like a curtain around our face, but I can still see that Sephiroth had a red tint to his cheeks and that his eyes were still sleepy. His eyes were clouded over as he leaned towards my neck, inhaling. "Good."_

"_What's g-good?" I stuttered._

_His grip on my arms tightened as he tilted his head to nibble my ear, causing me to squeal quite loudly. "You smell good, Maigen." He lifted his head to hover over mine. "You smell like cranberries." He licked his lips. "I like cranberries."_

_If possible, my blush got deeper. I looked around for a way to escape before finding the wine bottle on the dinning room table. I kept looking back and forth between the apparently drunk Sephiroth and the wine bottle. I groaned. "Why do you have to be drunk?"_

_Sephiroth lowered his lips to mine in a swift kiss, testing my reaction to it. I froze, wide eyed. This cannot be the Sephiroth that I knew. I was in a relationship with Genesis, yet I found myself slightly allured to the silver haired General's kiss. Sephiroth must have seen the reaction he wanted, as he lowered his lips to mine again. Just then, I pushed his face away. HARD._

"_Sephiroth, snap out of it! This isn't you! I know it isn't!" I whisper yelled._

_His clouded eyes darkened slightly. "How do yo know whether this is the real me or not? You spend all your time with Genesis now!" His outburst caused me to jump and shrink back into the mattress. I had never seen Sephiroth like this before. His eyes began to tear over. "Don't you care how I feel?"_

_I froze when he began to sob quietly. Wow. Sephiroth must have had a lot to drink. That and he didn't get much sleep. I mentally sweatdropped at how he was acting, but my heart clenched at the state he was in. I mean, I really like Genesis, but I also really like Sephiroth. I glanced around us and found that everyone was still asleep. How could they still be asleep with all the noise Sephiroth was making?_

_I glanced at Sephiroth as he collapsed on top of me, acting in a way that Sephiroth was never supposed to act. Gently, I began to run my right hand in his hair as he clutched my shirt tightly. "Seph. Seriously. How much did you drink before you went to sleep?"_

"_I drank the whole bottle." He sniffed._

_I frowned. "Alone?"_

_He nodded. "I usually drink a glass before bed, but I was more upset than usual last night and drank the whole bottle."_

_I continued to run my hand through his hair as I mentally sweatdropped again. "So you're an alcoholic now?"_

_He glared at me slightly, "This is not the time to be joking around, Maigen."_

_I adverted my eyes a little. "I wasn't trying to be. But tell me. Why do you drink so much, Sephiroth? What could possibly make you despair so much into drinking your worries away?"_

"_You." That was his answer._

_I froze. "Me? Why?"_

_He went to hover above me again. This time, there was a pained expression on his face. His green cat-like eyes gazed at me with emotions that I couldn't read. "You don't get it do you?" I shook my head for the negative. Sephiroth let a sigh escape his lips before lightly touching our foreheads together. "I love you, Maigen. I truly do. When I see you with Genesis, I'm filled with envy. That's why I drink every night."_

_His confession rendered me silent and shocked me to no ends. Sephiroth loved me. Knowing that, internally I jumped in glee. But I still feared that his friendship with Genesis would dissolve into a rivalry of love… That sounded awkward to think._

_I closed my eyes before pulling his head to my chest… that wasn't the best idea, but if anyone saw us with our foreheads together, they'd think we were kissing. I wonder if he'll do what I say since he's asleep. "Hey, Seph? Can you go to sleep? For me?"_

_He wrapped his arms around my body and snuggled his head to my chest even more. "Only if you stay with me."_

_I didn't get a chance to respond because he already began to snore lightly. I glanced at the clock tiredly. It was 2 am, so I could still get some more sleep. Ignoring the sleeping General, I closed my eyes to catch some more rest._

_(About 4 hours later.)_

_I awoke at around 6 am to a shifting of weight on top of me. I opened my eyes to meet green cat-like ones. I nearly had a heart attack when Sephiroth stared at me. Did he remember what happened four hours ago?_

"_What are you doing in my bed, Maigen?" he asked. Well… that answered my question._

"_I was going to ask you to help me prank Genesis by pretending that I love you more than Genesis and that I was your boyfriend, but I fell asleep before I could wake you up. I'm not really sure how our positions got switched though…" I lied skillfully._

"_This is indeed a compromising position." He said, buying my lie. Hey! I said that I could lie very well! "Are we going to start the prank now?"_

_I nodded as he withdrew to sit upright on the bed. "I'm going to brush my teeth first."_

_He let me walk back upstairs without a word._

_I finished my business and got dressed in the bathroom in like 15 minutes. Walking down the stairs, I noticed that everybody was downstairs… Most of the guys didn't brush their teeth until after breakfast. I brushed before and after._

_Genesis stood up from his chair to wrap his arms around me. "How's my beautiful girlfriend doing this morning?"_

_I mustered up the hardest mask I could. "I'm breaking up with you Genesis." He let go of me and stood there frozen for the longest time. I immediately missed his embrace, but I forced myself to continue with the prank. "I realized that I love Sephiroth more than you."_

_At that, Sephiroth came up from behind me to pull me into his embrace, nuzzling my neck. "That's right Genesis. She's my girlfriend now."_

_I observed Genesis's reaction inconspicuously. He clenched and unclenched his fist before growling out, "Fine. I don't need you anyways."_

_I watched as he stormed upstairs hurriedly. I bowed my head in shame at making him feel this way. "Go to him." I snapped my head up to gaze at Sephiroth. No words left my mouth. "You love him, so go. Tell him that you love him and that it was a prank and that you felt horrible for doing it. Say it like it is."_

_Apart of me knew that I had to do it, but a part yearned for the man before me. I gazed into his eyes before looking away as he pushed me towards the stairs. He returned to the dining table as I ran back to my room._

_I walked into my room and found Genesis laying in bed, eyes closed, and tears staining his cheeks. I gulped before running to embrace him on the bed. "I'm sorry!" His eyes snapped open as he sat up a little to see who had pounced on him. He didn't speak. He only stared at the wall. I continued to speak. "It's April Fool's day, Genesis. I wanted to prank you for once. That's why I got Sephiroth to help me. I-I still love you Genesis. I really do! So please don't be mad at me!"_

_He still didn't speak, so I did the only thing that I could do. I tackled him back onto the bed and pressed my lips to his, closing my eyes in the process. Genesis froze stiff, so I withdrew from the kiss. But he had different ideas. He switched our positions quickly before pressing his lips to mine heatedly. My eyes were wide open staring into his eyes as we kissed. I pulled away from the kiss for air and to see all of Genesis's face. His face was serious, but loving. "I didn't mean what I said." He said spontaneously._

_I caressed his cheek and pulled his face to my chest, not caring whether his face was squished between my boobs or not. "I take back the prank. I can't bare to see your face like that."_

_He sighed, hugging me to his much taller form. Well, compare 5' to 6'. I'm barely 5' anyways… maybe 4' 11". Yes… I'm really short. Anyways, we stayed like that until 7:30. My stomach began to growl and so did his, so we went downstairs to eat breakfast quickly and to leave for school._

So here I am now, in History, waiting for the toilet bowls in the bathroom to fall into pieces. You see we had entered the bathrooms while Genesis was on duty to crack some of the old toilet bowls, so that just a slight change of weight will cause them to fall apart easily.

We also set up a syrup and feather trick for the dance class before. We also decided to trap Weiss, Nero, Reno, and Adiana in the elevator. It was a prank that Rufus had agreed to help us do. I had another prank saved for home.

Okay. To satisfy your curiosity, I'll recap on the pranks.

I was in Band class when the chicken prank was set off in the auditorium. I think the person's name was Jacinta. The poor thing set off the trap by tripping over the string next to the light switches. A bucket of syrup fell onto her and a bag of feathers followed it. For whatever reason, the class was practicing the chicken dance, so the girl had a red glove on her head. The poor girl ran crying from the class.

The elevator trick was… weird? Yeah. That's the word. Weird.

_Rufus, Zack, Cloud, Kadaj, and I sat in the office viewing the elevator camera as Weiss led the others into the elevator. Just as soon as the door opened, we shut the elevator off._

"_That's not good." Weiss pretended to be concerned._

_Reno began to press against the open button repeatedly, before sighing. "We're stuck in here."_

_There was another girl in the elevator who had a crush on Weiss. I can see why, but he was a little too insanely sadistic for me… That and I've already got Genesis! So when the elevator stopped abruptly, she 'fell' onto Weiss… or who she thought to be Weiss… she fell on Nero instead. I have a crush on Nero, so my reaction was controlled… not really. I had jumped out of my chair to run to press the button to get them out, but was held back by one SOLDIER, a remnant, and two blondes. They then tied me to a chair, which appeared from somewhere and set me in front of the screen._

_I frowned as I continued to watch the events unfold in the elevator._

"_OMG! Weiss! Are we like, stuck here?" the girl screeched, clutching onto Nero._

"_It seems we are." He replied dully. He was glaring at her. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't wrap your arms so carelessly around my little brother."_

_After hearing what he said, the girl jumped away from Nero as if he had a disease. "Oh. So that wasn't you…"_

_I wanted to smack her in the face. She was obviously NOT a girl that I'd want to date if I were Weiss. In fact, I'd peg her as a stalker type person. And believe me, I pegged Benton as one of those types, and now… I try to avoid them on normal days. But I'm still his friend! I'm not that shallow!_

_Anyways, Nero didn't really take it as an insult, but Weiss and Nero were like this. (Entwines middle and forefinger together.) They are possessive of each other in a brotherly way… So that's a problem when they think that someone wants to take the other away from them._

"_As a if a girl like you could gain Weiss's affections." Nero claimed. "Maigen has a better chance than you and those two get into a fight at least once a day!"_

_(Sighs… It's true. Today, we fought over who ate the last piece of chicken. We settled it with rock-paper-scissors… he won…)_

_The girl had scrunched her face up… so did all the others in the elevator. "Ewww! There is no way a tomboy like her would be able to win his heart. She's too boy-like! I mean look at her hair! She looks like a pretty boy now!"_

_I frowned and fingered my short locks… I didn't look that much like a boy right? I may have cut my hair even shorter because I didn't want everyone calling me Genesis clone or Gackt clone._

_Adiana got red faced. "She's way better than you, even if she looks like a boy now!" Thank you Adiana for calling me a boy!_

"_Hold on! Maigen's like a sister to me, so that's gross!" Weiss exclaimed. Oh Weiss, you're too kind. "Even though I want to strangle her half the time…" I take that back._

"_See! I told you that he'd choose me!" She threw herself onto Weiss and stuck her tongue out at Nero, Adiana, and Reno._

_I mentally screamed at the woman to get off of Weiss. She was all over him and everyone was aggravated. Who in their right mind would want to provoke both Nero and Weiss? Oh wait, she wasn't in her right mind._

"_Get off of me woman!" yelled Weiss, trying to gently shove the girl off him._

_She sniffles and pretends to cry. "But we're made for each other!"_

_I suddenly felt bad for making Weiss do the prank. He must really hate my guts right now._

"_Get off of me right now! I have no interest in you!" he bellowed loudly._

"_It's because of Maigen isn't it?" she demanded._

"_It's none of your business." He huffed._

"_It's always about her! Don't you care about my feelings?" she demanded._

"_What feelings-!" she kissed him._

_Correction. She attacked him in the corner of the elevator floor, straddled him, and then kissed him. Nero was furious. "What do you think you're doing to Weiss?"_

_I decided that the fun was over and started the elevator up again. The elevator 'pinged' and opened to reveal the situation that they were all in to the student body._

_Zack stood at the opening of the elevator with a camera and immediately snapped a picture of the uncomfortable situation the elevator inhabitants were in. "Oh shit!"_

_The passing students stopped to stare as Weiss tried to push the girl off of him, but she just continued to assault his lips, oblivious to the fact that the elevator had opened and was currently being watched by about 39 students in the hallway._

_I had run towards the elevator at top speed with a whistled and quickly blew it when I reached my destination. The girl, startled, jumped off of Weiss and screamed loudly. "What the hell!"_

_I stood at the entrance of the elevator with my arms crossed and a scowl on my face. "What the glitch happened here?"_

_Weiss scowled as hard as I did. "Hello! You saw it on the camera!"_

_The girl looked confused. "Was this all a prank?"_

_I nodded. "It was, and I do believe that I can say that everything went as I planned. You broke down and assaulted Weiss because of your little obsession with him." I turned to walk away with Weiss and the others, leaving the girl frozen stiff in the elevator._

I did tell you that I didn't like people messing with my family, right? Those that did faced the consequences. I have an obsession with people that I consider my family and stuff. It was harsh on the girl, but whatever. I can be cruel that way.

I gazed at the teacher in boredom until I heard the loud crack of a toilet and a girl scream in shock. I put my head down to hide my grin. Bingo. Amber ran into the room, her butt covered in urine and poop. "The toilet cracked!"

"Maybe you're too fat." joked Jose.

We all laughed as Amber stomped away in indignant agitation.

*%#&%*)#&%*(_#^%*(_#&^%+)(#&*%+)(&%*(#^%+)(&#$+*)^_*^%_#*(^&%+)(#&%*(_#^%*(_#^%+)*#%^&(*#&%+#(%&+*^_#)(%&+(#)&%(*#^%#_*(&#+)(%&*(_#^_(#*&%+)#(%&+#)(%&#(*)

At home…

I hid in the laundry basket, snickering as I checked my watch. I had gotten home from school about 5 hours ago and was now waiting for someone to come down into the basement to pick up the laundry. I turned my head to the side, only to have men's boxers shoved into my face. I glared at the offending object. _I wonder whom this belongs to_. By the way, I'm hiding in their clean laundry… hehe… I'm embarrassed.

I heard the light open and footsteps down the stairs. "Why do I have to get the laundry? I'm the teacher, they should be the ones doing the chores."

I felt the basket get picked up and jumped out of the laundry to tackle whoever it was to the floor. I laughed at the look on Genesis's face as I straddled him. "Well this is a compromising position."

No words left his mouth as he smirked knowingly. I took a moment to ponder the look in his face. Mirth. Surprise. Love. And… lust… My eyes widened when Genesis switched our positions and began to kiss my lips lovingly, his hands caressing my cheek and running through my hair. I closed my eyes and enfolded my arms around his neck, kissing back.

We broke apart for air and I watched as Genesis nuzzled the crook of my neck. "I think I'm beginning to like your pranks."

*%#^_%#*(^%_(#*%^_#(*%^#*%&#)+(*$&#_(*%^_#(*%^+)*$&_!*($^(&#%^#(_%^*#_%*&^_!(&%&*#%^_(#*%^&_#(*%^_(&#+)%^#&(%^#_&(#^_%_*#%&_#*(%^_#(%^_(#*%^#)*%^#&(%

**Bane: I hope none of you kill me now!**

**Genesis: Hehe.. we finally kissed, my love. (*wraps arms around my waist and nibbles my neck.)**

**Bane: (*blush) Curse you and your sexiness!**

**Adiana: Woot! (*someone comes up from behind her and picks her up!) Ah!**

**Reno: Where's my kiss?**

**Adiana: (*smiles) I didn't forget about you!)**

**Everyone else: (*pouts) We feel left out.**

**%_*(%&#_(*%^#_(%^*#_(*#%_(#*^%_#(%*^#_(%*#_(*%^_#(%*^#_%*(#^%_#(*%^_#(%*^_#*%_#(*%^_#(*%^_#(*%^#_(*%^_#(*^%_#(***

**Thank you sooo much for the reviews!**

**Mata Nui: Lol. So you're like the ruler of your friends! That's cool!**

**LoreilDarksky00: Haha! Thank You! Pocky is very addicting to me, so I know how you feel! Not having internet where you live must suck!**

**Catslock: I'm glad that you enjoy my omake! I'm going to try to finish this story by the end of tomorrow! So bear with me!**

**Bibliotaku748: Jeez… Yes sarcasm is my friend! Now you get with Reno, Adiana!**

**Loveless an the living fantasy: Welllll, I'm a victim of procrastination, but just wait! This lovely little story will end in the next day! Then you'll be able to read the sequel! You'll want to kill me though…**

**%_#(*%^#_(*%^_#(%*^)#*&%^_(%^_!(*$^#*&%^#_(&*^#_%*#&%%&*(_#^%&#^%*(_#^%(#*^%#(_*%^_#(*%^#_(*%^#()&%^_(#**

**Hehe! Please bear with me!**

**PS: Nadal and Djokovic are both hottt! XP**


	26. Chapter XXIV: Going out with a BANG!

**AN: This is a late update. I am proud to say that this is the last chapter of My Guilty Pleasures! The sequel will be called: My Favor to the Planet. The play that I promised to write will be a one shot since I don't want to have to rush on it! My mind's not working properly since I'm currently sick with a cold… This chapter might make you sad, I'm not sure, so on to the chapter!**

**Chapter XXIV: Going out with a BANG!**

**%&#_(#%^_*^#_%*#^%_#&^%_*%^_(#*^%_#*&%_%_#*^%_#(*^%_(#*^%_(*#^_(*#%&_(#^%(_#*^%_(#*%^_(#*^%(_#*^%&(_#**

After the school year had ended, we were pretty much bored. We had nothing to do… but I became increasingly worried. We were nearing the set date of July 4 and I grew anxious. I didn't want any of them to leave. Yazoo and I had just come to terms with each other and Genesis had finally started kissing me more. Just thinking about it makes me really sad. But the days came and went and one by one, they left this world, taking the memory of their existence from everyone but me. I didn't mind the mind wipe, but it hurt being the only one who remembered that they were in this world.

+(#&%+#)(%&#+)%&+)!($&+$&)%+&!)($&+)(&$_!*+)(%&_(*%&#+)(&#_%*(#&+%)(*$_(*#&%+)#(%*+#)(%&#_(*%&+#)(%*_#(*%&+#)%*+#)%*_(#*&%+#)&

The first one to leave was Angeal. When I woke up that Monday morning, I knew that something was wrong. I had run downstairs when I smelled pancakes in hope that I would get first dibs on breakfast. Now, notice that I had my mind focused on food. So, I expected food. What I didn't expect was Angeal standing next to the table staring at his hands, which were beginning to fade.

My smile dropped at the sight before me. "You're the first to go?"

Angeal snapped his head to look at me. "I guess I am."

His limbs began to disappear faster. I ran to wrap my arms around his waist in an effort to keep him in this world. "I won't let you go! You can't leave!"

He sighed and looked to the ceiling. "I have to go back to my world, Maigen. All my plants are probably withered away by now."

I didn't want to accept it, but I still let him go. "Promise you won't forget me!"

He grinned at me gently. "I promise, kid."

When he disappeared completely, steps could be heard behind me. "Where's Angeal?"

I glanced out the window. Angeal won't be able to keep his promise if Minerva doesn't allow it. I smiled bitterly. "He went back, Genesis. Angeal went back."

_*(#&%#()&%+)#(%&_(#*%&+#)%*+)($&_!(*&%+#)(%&$_*%&_#)%&#+%)*#_(Y%#_)%&#+)(%&#_(*%#)(%*+#)(%&#_(&+#)(%&#+)(%&#+)(%&#+*%&+

The second person to disappear was Sephiroth. It was at night when he left. I could say that the exact time was 3am, but then again… I was half asleep. You see… I had woken up to go to the little girls room and when I came out, there stood Sephiroth. There was something off about him at the time, but I could figure out what.

"The voice is gone." That was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Did he mean JENOVA's voice? "Are you alright Sephiroth?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to be next."

I frowned. "How do you know that?"

He took my hand and placed it to where his heart was. I expected to feel his heart, but no sound or movement came. "I'm disappearing from the inside out."

My eyes shadowed over as tears sprung forward. Angeal left, and now Sephiroth's going too? "I don't want you to go."

At one point, Sephiroth had enveloped me in his arms and rested his head on top of mine. "Before I go, I want to know something."

I wrapped my arms around his waist tightly, burying my head to his chest. "What do you want to know?"

"Do you love me?" he whispered into my ear softly.

I fisted a handful of his shirt tightly as his chest began to fade away. I spoke with no hesitation. "I really do love you Sephiroth, so don't go! Please!"

He ran his fingers through my hair. "I love you too, Maigen. And I will never forget you."

With that, he vanished, leaving me to sob in the hallway. Weiss came out of our room. "Why are you crying, kid?"

"H-he's gone. Sephiroth's gone!"

#_(*%&#_%($+)%(&$(*%#^%)#(*_#)%*(#*^_)(%#_)%*!)_*^%_#)(*%+_$)%(Y#_(%+)%(_#)%*_*(#Y%_#(*%_#*)%*Y#)(*#&%+_#)(%*_#(*&%_(#RUJ_#(+)(#

After Sephiroth left, the light in my eyes had gradually begun to fade. I realized that the order they were all disappearing in was according to the order they died. If this was true, the next person to die was… Zack. We were playing basketball when he started to fade. I remember passing the ball to him only to have the ball go right through his hands and through his body. I could've laughed at his face, but I knew that it was his turn to go. I dropped everything and ran to him before he fully disappeared.

"Zack! Don't go!" I had screamed my hand outstretched to him.

He extended his hand to me, but like Ulquiorra, I was too late and he faded entirely.

Cloud had run up beside me and stared at where Zack once stood. Then, as if something clicked in us, we both screamed just like at the end of Crisis Core.

#_(*&#+)*^+)$*_^#*&%^+_^)$(+)#(*&%^#&^%+)%#(_*%Y#_(*%+#)(%&#_($*^#%)_(%&+)($&#(_%*^+%)(#&%_#(*%_(#*^%+#)(%*#_)%_#(*%+#)

A day passed after that and I noticed that Cloud had adopted Zack persona like he did in Final Fantasy VII. Many people hate Cloud because he adopted Zack's personality, but I can relate to how he feels. Just think about it. Cloud had Mako poisoning and due to that, he was in a comatose state. Zack was Cloud's best friend while at Shinra. So due to the Mako poisoning and the trauma of losing someone very close, Cloud's mind literally went into a shattered state. If his mind didn't reconstruct itself, he would stay comatose. Now that I've lost Zack, I too can say that his disappearance had affected me as greatly as Sephiroth's and Angeal's.

At this point, my mind was made up. The next to go would be Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, Nero, and Weiss. I didn't know what to do when the ones who didn't die were left. So, I waited. A part of me left and went with each person that went back to Gaia. When it was down to Rufus, Rude, Tseng, Reno, Genesis, Cloud, and Vincent, it was Tseng that left first. It still hurt, but we weren't all that close. I realized that closeness became a factor to their disappearances after Rufus and Rude disappeared. When Reno disappeared the next morning, I called Adiana.

"Reno's gone." That was the only thing I said.

"Who's Reno, Maigen?" she asked, genuinely confused sounding.

"Your boyfriend, Adiana!" it was my turn to be confused. I didn't know that no one but I would remember the gang.

"Maigen, are you feeling well? I don't have a boyfriend." She insisted.

I froze. "Uhhh. Sorry. I guess I should lie down. I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and ran upstairs to get the pictures from this year. I scattered them on the bed to scan them all. I stared at the picture of only us from the end of the school play. We were all there, but when I went to the yearbook, none of the ones who disappeared were found in the book. I flipped to the picture we took while in Six Flags. They were all missing. I took the photos of our gang only and put them into a separate book.

That's when I figured out that when one of them disappears, the inhabitants of this world would forget about them.

%_#&+%)#+*%_*(#^%)#(*%&+#)%(*#_(%*^#_(*&#+)%(*#+)(++)(#&%+#)%(&+_)(&_#(*%^_#)%&#+)%(&#_%*(&#_)(%&+#(_%&#(*%&^+#)(%&+#)%(*&_*

July 5th 2011

I didn't know what happened. I only know that the remaining three disappeared faster than everyone else. Vincent disappeared within a day of Reno, Cloud disappeared within an hour of Vincent, and now… now I'm alone in bed. Genesis was nowhere to be found. He wasn't in the house when I woke up. So he disappeared while we were both asleep. I buried my face into the sheets his scent was gone too. Tears once again cascaded down my cheeks. I held the LOVELESS book to my chest. It was the only thing left besides the pictures that wasn't taken with him.

I went to Adiana's house that same day and sobbed to her. She had no clue on what I was sobbing on about, but she comforted me through my whole breakdown. How many of you have a friend like that?

When it grew dark, I bid Adiana farewell and went back home. Once home, I did the usual. I showered, ate, and played piano before returning to my room.

I grabbed a backpack and stuffed some extra clothes into it (undergarments and all) with my iPod, flashdrive, necklaces, LOVELESS, and my sports goggles. I left the bag at the foot of my bed as I changed into pajamas and climbed into bed.

_(#*%&#+)(%*_(*^#_*(#&%+#)(*%#()%&#_)%&+#)(*_%)*_)(*%_#)*%&+)#(&%#+)(%&+)#(&%_*#+%!)(%&_#(*%^_#(*%&+)(%&#+%*&_#(*%&+#

Around 11:47pm that night…

A loud explosion woke me up that night to a sight that I never thought I'd see. My house was on fire. I fell out of bed in surprise and alarm. "What the hell is going on?"

I heard laughter coming from outside the house and glanced out the window what I saw surprised and angered me. Outside stood my Uncle Ellis, Aunt Aris, Uncle Toscan, and Miss Murt. They had a flamethrower and a few gallons of empty gasoline. I narrowed my eyes and screamed out in rage. "You'll fucking pay for this!"

Uncle Ellis laughed. "No! I told you that you'd pay and now you will. WITH YOUR LIFE!"

He took out a gun and shot at my window, which I'm now thankful is bulletproof. I glanced around the room and quickly picked up my bag and tied my Barricades on. I glanced around for my pictures and found them on my desk. I calmly walked over to them as the flames filled the room and picked them up. "I'll never leave any of you behind."

To be continued in My Favor to the Planet.

**_*^_$(*%^&$+*&%+*#^%#*^%+#)(%&#_(*%^_#(*%^&+#)%*(&#_(*^_($#*%&+#)%(&#_(^*(*#&%+#)(%&)#*%^#(_*^%#)_*%&)_*#**

**Bane: Well! I'm done with this story!**

**Readers: You'd better post the sequel up soon!**

**Bane: Yeah... But I'm writing at least thirty pages first!**

**Readers: That's too long of a wait!**

**Bane: *huff… I'll post what I have possibly tomorrow or something…**

**Readers: Yes!**

**Bane: I'll see you in the sequel… or another story.**

**&%)&*%%^#$&#(^&)^%)*&%(&%#%#!&%$(^%)*^_&%%^#^%#$!&%$#(&^_(*&(*&%$^%$^$#!&%$#$(*&T_(*&(&*%$*^$^$#!&$_*(&_)(*^***

**Geez… Only one review last chapter?**

**Anyways… Thank you to loveless an the living fantasy! You're review has helped me surpass the 50 review mark that I wanted it to pass!**


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